Soul for the Sea
by Jack Sparrow's Secret Lover
Summary: Kia washes up on a beach carrying nothing but a sword, a pair of glasses, and a locket. In that locket, there is a slip of paper leading to treasure beyond her imagination. Jack OC. Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I do not own POTC.
1. Washed Up

Name: Kiandra Mathers (But most people call her Kia)  
Age: 25  
Height: 5'9"  
Eyes: Emerald green. She's never seen anybody else with the same eyes.  
Hair: Jet-black and curly but not frizzy. It goes all the way to her waist because she's never cut it.  
Skin: Slightly sunburned but other than that, it's very, very pale she prefers to stay indoors.  
Family: All family is dead... you'll find out more later. :)  
Personality: A very kind, loving person, but she tries to hide it all with a rough exterior. She tries not to become close to people because she know that if she does, it'll only be more painful when she lose them.  
Other: She loves to play guitar and have an amazing singing voice. She writes her own songs and the music to go with them. She wears a pair of silver-rimmed (not real silver) glasses that she's managed to keep a hold on. As well, she has a silver locket with a black geometrical pattern on it. Sadly, it doesn't open. Someone also gave her a sword many years ago that never leaves her side. She's also an avid reader.

(Dream)

I swam and swam with all my might, but I could not escape it. It was faster than me. In an attempt to get away, I dove into the deep, murky water.

As I opened my eyes, I saw something towards the bottom of the sea. A large, stone tower stood in the water. I stopped to gaze at it, realizing my mistake moments too late.

The monster swept me up in its jaws and burst through the surface in a large leap. I braced myself to be crushed, but strangely it never happened.

I opened my scrunched up eyes and looked up at the beast that held me.

It was not a monster, and what held me was not his teeth, but his arms. It was a man; or, at least, half a man. His bare torso, arms, and face were that of a mans but the rest of him was covered in a dark shroud.

I tried twisting around to see what was behind it, but his strong arms held me firm in place. I finally gave up and settled with gazing into his handsome face. Strangely enough, it was vaguely familiar. I knew I had seen it somewhere, I just didn't know where.

He deposited me on a sandy beach after some time. It could have been anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours. Before I could thank him for the lift he was gone. Disappeared into the waves. I couldn't make a move to follow him.

As I lay there, with the sun beating down on me, and the water lapping at my feet, I felt happy for the first time in a long time. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.

(End of Dream)

I groaned and tried to lift my heavy eyelids. They opened a fraction of an inch and stopped. From what I could see, there was a crowd of people surrounding me. Why they were there, I didn't care. All I wanted to do was find that man. But even as I thought of it, the image of his face faded. I tried hard to grab it before it went away forever but I couldn't. It was gone. I sighed deeply.

"She's alive!" came a shout from above me. I tried opening my eyes once again. Much to my delight, they did. A couple of relieved men stood above me, staring straight at me. I sat bolt upright, nearly hitting one of them in the nose, and looked around. Beds were everywhere. There was practically no room to walk around for lack of room. I guessed I was in some kind of hospital. A cross over the door confirmed my thoughts.

As I looked myself over I was surprised to find I was in a clean change of clothes that felt starchy and uncomfortable.

I groaned again. "Where am I?"

A woman dressed in a long, white dress came bustling in with an armful of jars and bottles. "You're in the infirmary." Well, duh.

"No," I said, frustrated. "Where am I? What city, port?"

"Oh," said the woman in realization. She was obviously not the brightest person, but seemed kind enough. "Port Jacobs."

"What country?"

"Jamaica." I breathed a sigh of relief. It was one thing to be in an unfamiliar town, and another to be on an unfamiliar island. Things weren't going entirely well for England and its neighbors. Landing on an enemy island probably wasn't the best idea.

The lady approached me and shooed the men away from my bed. "You're in pretty bad shape," she said. "Might I ask what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about," I grumbled.

I spent much of the next hour trying to explain to the nurse that I really didn't need bandages on my face. The two bright red marks no doubt looked very worrying to her. The scars had been cut into my face 7 years ago, but had never faded. They remained a deep cherry.

One of them was on the left side of my face. It ran straight down from an inch below the corner of my eye and stopped just short of the edge of my chin. The other started at the apple of my right cheek and curved up to my hairline. Each was cut deep, almost to the bone.

When I finally had the lady convinced, she started asking me about the other marks on my body.

"What marks?" I said. She didn't buy it.

I had 2 other cuts. There was a 3 inch one on my upper right thigh that slanted slightly to the left. The other went from the top of my neck on the right side, across my shoulder, to the crease in my elbow.

I had to stay there for two... entire... weeks. I swear it was the worst 2 weeks of my life. The woman's bantering coupled with the pain of my injuries annoyed me to no ends.

In fact, she probably could have let me go a week earlier. But she kept me for longer so that the bill she handed me would be even longer.

"50 shillings?!?" I shouted.

"You stayed here for 2 weeks. Normally it would be 57 shillings, but I gave you a discount." She smiled.

"Wow, aren't I special," I muttered to myself. Now, I had to get a job.


	2. An Emotional Wreck

I aimlessly wandered around the cobblestone paths, looking for any "help wanted" signs. Finding none, I started asking around to see if anyone knew if anyone was hiring people.

I approached a woman sweeping her front walk. She seemed wealthy enough to know what was going on, but not so rich she would push me, a lower classman (or woman) away. "Excuse me," she looked up and smiled kindly. I breathed a sigh of relief. "I was wondering if you knew where I could get a job."

She nodded, then pointed to the large manor down the street. "I heard that they need a new maid. If you knock on the door and ask for Walden, he'll help you." I thanked her and hurried along.

As I approached the eerie, intimidating mansion I was tempted to turn around and run away. But, I swallowed my fear and rapped the door. A man in a suit answered the door. "May I help you?" he asked.

"Umm, I'm looking for Walden." I felt very awkward.

"That would be me."

"Okay," I said. "I heard that you needed a maid. Do you?"

"Yes, come with me."

I followed him into the large house, tripping over the entryway. We came into a large room with a beautiful, glass chandelier in the middle of the high, circular ceiling. We kept moving through other rooms with perfect furniture, and not a speck of dirt was visible. Either they overworked their maids, or they just had a lot, hopefully the latter. He stopped in a small room with only a bed and tiny dresser.

"What room is this?" I asked.

"My bedroom," answered Walden flatly.

"Oh. So why are we here?"

"We need to be sure that you want this job." That sounded suspicious. It was as if nobody wanted it, or when they got it they didn't want it anymore.

"What will I have to do?"

"Watch the governor's daughter." That sounded easy enough. So why was he so... hesitant?

"So why wouldn't I want this job?"

He hesitated. "She's a bit... rebellious."

"How rebellious."

"Err. She runs away on a regular basis, constantly disobeys her father, and is obsessed with boys." I breathed a sigh of relief. For a minute, I thought there might have been something seriously wrong with her.

"How old?"

"16."

"You've got yourself a nanny." It couldn't be too hard.

Walden led me to the room where all of the maids slept and introduced me to one of them, Mary. We later became very close friends. She helped to show me around the massive house for most of the rest of the day. It was around 7 o'clock when I met the governor's daughter, Allie. I was cleaning up her room when she walked in. She was wearing a long, peach corset dress. It went very nicely with her light, blond hair and brown eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked. I could tell she was snobby by the disgust in her voice.

"I'm Kia, you're new maid. I'm supposed to watch over you."

"Right," she said coolly. "My stalker."

"Well I would hardly call myself a stalker. I'm more like a follower."

"You're bold," she said it as if it was a bad thing. "Perhaps too bold." And maybe it was a bad thing. But then her face broke into a grin. "I like it."

Startled, I tried to make sense of everything. "Wait. So first you hated me and now you like me?"

She shrugged. "All of my maids have been bland and boring. None of them ever completely understood me. But you seem different. How old are you?"

"25."

"Exactly! All the others were in their 30's and 40's and none of them understood what I wanted to do. They just locked me up in this house."

She was very wound up. Either that or she was drunk. I wasn't quite sure which one it was. Either way, I figured I had better calm her down. "Come change into your nightgown," I said. She followed me to a screen that she changed behind. The whole time she was telling me about her evening. She told me what she did, who she saw, what they said, etc. For the next 2 hours she kept on talking... and talking... and talking...

Surprisingly enough, she wasn't anything like what I thought she would be. She was a little on the snobbish side, but I figured that it came with having so much money. But other than that, she was very fun and nice, for a lack of better words. Obviously, she was very, very talkative. Luckily, she didn't only talk about parties and superficial friends. She liked talking about more serious things as well. Love, life... and more love. But, she was also on the rebellious side; jumping at any chance to disobey her father. Usually, it was up to me to stop her.

The next morning I grudgingly woke up at 6:00 AM with all of the other servants. Bright and early. Ugh. After finishing my morning chores, I trudged up the spiraling staircase to Allie's room. "Rise and shine, Sleeping..." I looked at the empty bed, not quite believing my eyes. "Damn," I said under my breath.

The next 20 minutes I spent frantically running through the house looking for her. Finally, after going through every room at least three times, I realized she was outside. Muttering under my breath, I threw on a pair of shoes and ran out the door and down the street. I kept going until I hit the water, but still, I didn't see her. I did a 360 turn and spotted her by the docks. I sprinted to her and grabbed her shoulder. Then, I launched myself into a scolding. "What the hell were you thinking?!? You scared the crap out of me! What, do you think you can just..." That's when I saw the tears streaming down her face. My anger began to fade away. I took a seat next to her on the edge of the water. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's just..." she began in a shaky voice, "I'm so... lost. You... you can probably... do hiccup whatever you want. But I... am so limited. I can't do what I want... Sure... I sneak out during the night... But... but it's not enough." She gave a small sob and buried her face in her hands.

'What an emotional wreck,' I couldn't help thinking.

I sat down and hesitantly patted her back. She laid her head in my lap and wept softly. We stayed like that for several countless minutes. Finally, she lifted herself up and wiped her puffy, red eyes. "We'd better get going." She said. The clock suddenly began to ring out. Once. Twice. Before it finished its nine rings we were already flying down the street. 'Only a half an hour' I thought. We ran inside the house and I quickly changed her into a beautiful white dress with blue lining it. But before I could stop to admire it, I caught sight of the clock. "5 minutes!" I shouted. We ran back down the steps to the dining room door. A short, fat butler with slightly graying black hair was standing next to it.

"Cutting it close, are we?" He said. I ignored him and pushed Allie into the room. The door closed on her worried face and I turned to the butler. He had a slightly amused expression on his face.

"What?" I asked him.

"Nothing," he snickered.

"WHAT?" I demanded.

"You're stuck with Allie." He was grinning widely.

"So?" I said indignantly. He just kept on smiling. It was as if someone had made a joke that I hadn't gotten but that he understood completely. Ignoring him again, I stormed off to find Mary.

I found her in the kitchen washing a huge pile of dishes and laying them into a basket to dry. Wordlessly, I ambled next to her to put away the clean dishes. She acknowledged me with a nod. That's what I liked about Mary; she knew when I wanted to talk and when I just wanted to think and she respected it. And I did the same for her.

Her brown, mousy, shoulder length hair fell into her face as she worked. Her hair was a light tint and her body was thoroughly tanned from many hours in the sun. She had two small patches of freckles in each cheek of her thin face. Men constantly got lost in her big brown eyes. I don't think she ever realized how pretty she was. Being born into a poor family, she probably wouldn't get anywhere based just on her intellect. Her beauty would take her far though.

'Unlike me,' I thought bitterly. Unconsciously, I raised my hand to my face. I traced the scars with my finger. Any possibility of marrying anyone of higher status had been shattered in a single moment. They had said I was pretty before. Several rich men courted me before that day. But now, what was the point? I couldn't marry for money; rich men only want perfect women. But love...

Then I made a huge mistake. I asked myself "the question". 'Will I find love?'

I thought about it for a while, but it hurt far too much. Love had brought me so much pain. I had been betrayed by some who had I had loved. Others, I had lost. They had been stolen away from me in the blink of an eye. But, I realized, despite all that I had been through, I could not cry. I had not shed a single tear since my mother died all those days ago. I doubted if I ever would.

Half an hour and several broken dishes later, Mary went off to scrub the floors and I retired to Allie's room. Not finding her there, I decided to tidy up. I was organizing her messy bedside table when she came flying in. her sudden appearance surprised me and I jumped so much I knocked over a candle holder. Luckily, it wasn't lit or else the entire house would have been in flames in a matter of minutes. I bent down, picked it up and set it back on the table while Allie, completely oblivious to my actions, skipped to her bed and sat on it. She was smiling from ear to ear. Could this have been the same girl I had dropped off just an hour ago, sniffling and red-eyed? Well... apparently.

"Let's have an adventure," she said, out of nowhere. She sounded so much like my sister it was all I could do not to shout out her name. Kayla. She used to say things like that all the time. 'Let's do something exciting! Let's sneak out! Let's go on a quest!' And so on and so forth. She always thought that I could do anything, no matter how impossible. Being ten years apart, many people thought that we didn't get along, but we did. I always loved how much she admired me. We were like best friends.

When she died it was almost like a part of me died. She took it with her. I could remember the day almost perfectly. She lay in her bed; thin, pale, and weak from the disease. Her once beautiful and shiny blond hair was limp and gray looking. And her eyelids were closed over her blue eyes, clear as the ocean. And her body lay still. She had been hacking and coughing for nearly a week, but now it did not move. I slipped my hand in hers and gave it a small squeeze. It twitched in response. Then she went limp.

Allie's voice brought me back to reality. "Kia? You okay?"

I blinked once, and then said, "Yeah. I'm fine."

Allie looked concerned for a fraction of a second, but then figured I would be okay. She began bouncing on her massive king-sized bed. "So? What do you say? Are we going to do something exciting or what?"

I pushed the thought of my sister's body, pale and cold, out of my head. "Let's do it," I said. For me. For Allie. But most of all, for Kayla.


	3. Midnight

Figuring out what to do was the easy part. We decided to go on a horse ride for the day. I know, it doesn't sound all that great. And, to tell you the truth, I agree, but Allie was so excited about it I didn't want to say anything. Her parents barely let her walk down the street, let alone let her leave the town. I had to ask her father, the governor, for his approval.

I was led to his study by the butler who had laughed at me that morning and was pushed inside. He was sitting at his desk in a huge chair that looked like a throne. He looked absolutely nothing like Allie. Except for one huge bald spot, his head was covered with thick brown hair. Above his lip, was an enormous mustache that looked like a ferret. And he wasn't the fittest person either. Rather, he was large and portly. He kind of reminded me of a banker, big and smoking a cigar. A greedy look was also constantly plastered onto his face. Although I couldn't tell for sure, it looked like Allie had inherited his brown eyes. They were trained on a book sitting on his desk. I read the upside-down title at the top of the page.

"The Odyssey" I said aloud. "Good book."

He looked up at me quizzically. "You know how to read?" It was more of a statement than a question but I nodded my head anyways. He continued. "What are you here for?" His voice was gruff and thickly accented.

"I wanted to know if Allie and I could take a trip."

"Why?"

"I have a friend in a nearby town that has said he'll give Allie private lessons," I said just as she and I had rehearsed.

"How much?"

"No charge. He owes me."

He considered it for a moment. "Which town? Silverdale or Longville?"

My mind raced. We had completely forgotten about that. Since I had never heard of either of them I picked one at random. "Silverdale."

"That's in the forest." I cursed under my breath. I had no doubt he wouldn't let us go now. The forest was packed with thieves and beggars.

"I'll arm myself." I had absolutely no clue what I was doing but I figured I would give it a shot. "With a sword and pistol." He raised his eyebrows. "I won't use them! It'll just be for show. Most bandits are too cowardice to dare attack anyone with weapons."

He thought for 5 long, hard minutes, and then spoke. "We'll try it for today. But…" he looked at me menacingly. "If there is a single scratch on Allie when you get back…" he trailed off. I nodded and he began reading again as if I had never been there. I was about to walk out when I had an idea.

"Sir?" With a sigh he turned his attention back to me. "Can we take a basket of food along with us?" I crossed my fingers tightly behind my back.

"Tell the chef I gave you my permission."

I thanked him and walked out, silently leaping for joy. Allie and I met at the bottom of the staircase and when I told her about my success she squealed in delight. When she finally calmed down she practically skipped to the kitchen. I followed her, rolling my eyes.

A couple long strips of dried beef, bananas, apples, and 2 cucumbers were packed tightly into a large basket and covered with a blanket. We carried it and the rest of our supplies to the stables. Allie immediately went to her horse, Rose. Rose was chocolate brown with white on her hooves. She was very energetic and loved to fool around. Allie was the only one who could keep her under control. I still don't know how she did it. She was grooming Rose and feeding her some sugar when she remembered me.

"Choose whoever you want. Oh, except Snow." She gestured to a pure white horse that looked like a unicorn without their horn. He stood tall and looked so high and mighty. I'm not sure I would have wanted to ride him even if I could.

My eyes wandered around the stable. Immediately, I was drawn to a pitch-black stallion that was whinnying and stomping his hooves on the dirt ground. Although he tried to hide it, his eyes were wide with fear from us unwanted intruders.

"Who's that?" I asked Allie.

"Midnight. But you might not want him. He's a bit skittish."

I ignored her and stepped towards Midnight with my hand outstretched. He let out a snort and backed into the far end of his stable. Lucky for me, he didn't decide to raise his hooves and maul me to death. I softly clicked my tongue and rubbed my thumb against my forefinger. My mother had done this a thousand times and it had always worked. Just as I expected, he ventured out and sniffed my hand. He stepped back again, like he thought I was going to hurt him. But then he came back. He prodded at my hand gently and I took his permission to pet him. As I stroked his long neck I slipped into his stable and put his saddle and reins on him. As I led him out, he nudged my in the back as if to thank me.

Allie was genuinely surprised to see me leading a calm Midnight. "How did you do that?" she asked incredulously.

"Family secret," I said with a half-smile. She mounted onto Rose and soon as she was secure I handed her the basket with our food in it.

"Why can't you carry this?" she asked in a whiny voice.

"I'm going to be carrying these." I lifted my dress a little and showed her the dagger hidden in one boot and the pistol in the other. Then I patted the sword on my side. "Plus," I continued. "Your horse can handle the extra weight." It was true. Rose was so big that Midnight looked like an ant next to her. It was like comparing a dog to a cat. Allie couldn't deny that so she grudgingly agreed to take the food with her.

I hopped onto Midnight and asked Allie which way to go. She pointed to a path leading into the forest and I took off on it. She had asked me if she could go in front, but I had refused, saying it would look suspicious if I was following her instead of the other way around. Although it was true, I mainly went in front because I preferred it that way. I'm not much of a follower; I like to lead.

The road we were traveling on was paved flat from constant use. A couple people were on it as well as us but luckily nobody tried anything. They must have figured we didn't have anything worth stealing.

We moved along at a quick pace for about an hour or two. My horse began to slow down.

"Midnight is getting tired." I turned around to tell Allie.

"Rose too." Her horse was looking slightly droopy and I could swear she was panting.

Midnight stopped abruptly, looked around and then veered off to the left onto a less beaten road. I twisted in my seat again and saw that Rose was following Midnight. Shrugging, Allie let go of her reins and let her horse do the leading for once.

We walked for another 10 minutes and came out on a large field the size of a town. In the middle was a lake about the size of two of Allie's houses. A.k.a., it was big. And the water was crystal clear. Rocks were at the bottom. Best of all, it was completely deserted.

Allie and I slid off of our horses and let them have a well-deserved break. Dipping their long necks to the ground they sniffed the water precariously before taking a couple of sips. Deciding it was safe; they began to take long gulps of water to quench their thirst. By the time they had finished Allie and I came to the agreement that we would stay there for the rest of the day. Since neither of us was hungry, we tied the horses to a large willow tree and decided to go swimming. We stripped down to our undergarments (the plain white dress we wore under our other clothes) and dove into the water from a rock that jutted out over the lake.

When I came up, I felt refreshed and cooled off. I was floating on my back for about half a second when Allie came up from below me and poked my sides. I jumped and when I landed I inhaled some of the water. Allie was laughing so hard she accidentally got water up her nose as well. We treaded water for a while, coughing and spitting, trying to get the water out and the stinging in our noses to go away. When we looked at each other's red eyes and slightly bluish faces we fell into fits of laughter, which resulted in more water up our noses. Somehow we managed to drag ourselves onto the shore and lay there, giggling and hiccupping.

"I haven't laughed like that…" I began in a shaky voice as I clutched my stomach, "since… since…" I fell short. My mind flashed back to what had happened on the day that I had laughed this hard. _Don't think about it. _I told myself.

"Since…?" prodded Allie. The happy carefree felling from before was gone. Her shoulders would still lurch every once in a while from a hiccup, but the smile on her face was gone.

"Never mind." I mumbled. I heard Allie groan and say something under her breath. I wasn't sure exactly what she said, but it sounded something like "She never tells me anything, the insufferable know-it-all." She obviously had a short temper and so did I. She infuriated me.

"Since the day my mom died!" I turned away from her. _Don't think about. _"There! You happy?"

It was several minutes before Allie spoke and when she hid, her voice was quiet and it shook like an earthquake. "My mom died too." I sat up and looked at her. She was lying on her back looking up into the cloudless blue sky. As I watched, her eyes filled up and tears poured out of the sides. They ran down until they reached her wet hair and blended with the water. I instantly felt a wave of guilt wash over me. "I loved her." Her body shook as she began to sob.

Like before, I wasn't sure what to do. I settled on reaching out and stroking her hair. She gave another sob and sat up to hug me. I held her for a long time, knowing how she felt, how she needed comforting. Her shaking began to cease and eventually stopped. Except for the occasional sniff she was silent. Her head remained on my shoulder. She finally released me and when I looked at her, she looked surprisingly calm, almost happy. _She may have meltdowns, _I thought_, but she recovers from them quickly._

A grin spread across her face. "Race you." Before I knew it, I was on my feet, sprinting towards the water. With a huge splash we cannonballed into the water at almost the same time.

After a couple more hours of swimming around in the water, we retired to the grassy field. Since we were both starving, I spread out our blanket and we munched on our food.

"How did your mom die?" Allie asked. I stared at her, but she just looked curious, not sad.

"She… she was killed by an officer."

She nodded sadly. "Mine died just a year or two ago. Giving birth to my brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Had a brother. He died with my mom." Her voice cracked a little and her eyes filled but she drew a long shuddering breath that seemed to calm her.

The rest of the day was spent just playing around. Since I had grown up around water, I showed Allie how to swim correctly and how to do flips underwater. In return, she showed me how to do a flip above harder. She thought it was easy, but it took me a long time before I could do it without hurting myself. I also tried to teach her some sword handling, but it was hopeless. She didn't get it at all.

The sun began to sink lower into the sky. Reluctantly, we dragged ourselves home. We were sent to the governor's study as soon as we arrived. We told him a long tale about how we went to Jack Smith's house and he did an evaluation on Allie the whole time to figure out what to teach her. He expected us to return the next day. Allie's dad took a very long time to think about what to do. Finally, he said that we would go back tomorrow.

So we did. We returned every day (except Sunday) for the next 2 years. Because of how happy Allie was and how smart and good mannered she was becoming, I received a great amount of money despite my small job. I was hoping I could keep it forever. Then, of course, everything changed.


	4. Cursed

We were making our way home when a man jumped out into the road. I stopped Midnight just in time and glared at the man. He had a straggly gray beard and he was balding. A wild, disconcerting look was in his eyes. When he opened his mouth to speak I could see that he had just a few crooked teeth left.

"Excuse me, misses." He had a raspy voice that sounded like 2 rocks rubbing together. "Might you spare some food for a weary traveler?"

"Move out of the way." I said coldly, ignoring his request. (You may think I was being cruel and heartless, but I didn't trust this guy. He looked at me oddly, almost hungrily. And bandits usually wait until your guard's down before they steal from you. Plus, I had no respect for anybody who begged for food. Jobs could be found all over, you just have to look.)

"Please," he said imploringly. "Just a bit."

"No. Move."

"Then you leave me no choice." With a grim expression on his face he brought a pistol out, cocked it and shot at me. At the same time Midnight reared up, throwing me off of his back. I landed on the ground on my back and felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder. That coupled with the feeling of my breath being knocked out of me, left me winded.

Gathering what strength I had left in me, I lifted myself up off the ground into a sitting position. A rock lay on the ground, probably the one my shoulder had landed on. I picked it up and chucked it towards the man, trying to hit him between the legs. Normally I'm a good aim, and if I was standing I would have hit my mark, but instead it hit him in the stomach.

He doubled over with a grunt. It gave me just enough time to retrieve my pistol and toss it to Allie who had jumped off her horse to help me when I had fallen.

"Don't worry about me," I called to her. "Shoot him!"

She nodded and caught the gun. She was aiming it at the man when a shot rang out. Allie's lifeless body fell to the ground.

Another man emerged from the surrounding forest carrying the pistol that had killed Allie. Both men trained their guns on me.

I raised my hands in defeat. "You want my money?" I said, a plan forming in my head. They nodded vigorously. I fumbled in my boot for a moment and gripped the handle of my dagger. I glanced up at the man standing nearest to me, the one who had come out of the forest, and I pinpointed where his heart would be.

In a flash, I brought out the dagger and threw it at the man's heart, hitting it, more or less. As he fell, I rolled to the man, grabbed his gun and shot at the other man until he fell, dead.

I rolled the 2 men off the road and behind a bush, then checked on Allie. No pulse. And Midnight was also on the ground. When the first man had shot at us, instead of hitting me like he intended to, he hit Midnight instead. He was dead.

Only Rose and I were left. I wrapped Allie in our blanket and set her on the back of Rose. I knew her dad would want her body to bury. At least, I hoped her dad would want her body. I would have liked to bring Midnight too, to give him a proper burial, but he was too big, even for a puny horse. With the help of Rose, I pulled him into the woods.

Before we set off, I strapped Allie securely onto Rose—I didn't want her to fall off.

When I got to the house the butler who always helped Allie and I unpack and get our things into the house looked shocked. I couldn't blame him. Rose and I were both covered with blood, and Allie's body was slung across Rose's broad back. His face was pale and slightly green.

I slid off Rose and handed the butler my reins. "Take care of them." I said.

I pushed past the huge oak doors and stepped into the familiar huge hall. On a normal day it would intimidate me, but today it felt a million times more ominous.

I slowly began the ascent up the stairs. My feet felt like lead and I had to concentrate on each step. It was welcome relief from the odd numbness that had settled in my mind and body. I rapped on the door of the governor's study.

"Enter." Taking a deep breath, I stepped in. He was sitting in his desk again, this time scribbling something on a piece of parchment.

"What is it?" His tone was annoyed.

I pretended to suddenly be interested in the carpet. I didn't know how to put it gently. So I didn't. "Allie's dead."

His quill stopped mid-scratch. "She's…" His voice was ridden with pain.

"I'm sorry." I guess I never realized how much he loved her. It always seemed like he didn't care so he kept her away from the world. Now I realized he did it to protect her, to keep her safe.

"What happened?" His voice was tight, constricted. I could tell he was trying not to burst out in tears.

I told him the whole story. Well, minus the fact that we snuck off to the middle of the forest and did nothing all day. I had a feeling if I told him that he'd be very, VERY mad at me.

I finished the story off with our arrival at the house. He stayed silent.

"We'll have to tell your friend about her death."

"Friend?" I forgot myself for a second and when I remembered I could have smacked myself. Stupid. "Right! My friend."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't question me. "Shall I send someone?"

"No," I said a little too quickly. I took a moment to calm down—I couldn't blow this now. "I'll tell him. May I go now?"

He nodded. "And when you get back…" He struggled for the right words. "I'm afraid I'll have to dismiss you."

I didn't object. I had a feeling that was going to happen. Without a word, I walked out.

I was in the downstairs hall and was about to leave when Mary came running down the hall.

"Kia! What's going on?" Her eyes widened, as she looked me over. "What happened?"

"Allie died."

"Oh…" she said softly. I looked down and fiddled with my necklace absentmindedly. I used to do that a lot when I got nervous or uncomfortable. When I looked up, Mary was crying.

"Hey," I said, worried for her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She smiled weakly. "Wait… Does this mean you're out of a job?"

"Yeah. As soon as I get back from telling my friend what happened I have to leave."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

A silence followed, but not an awkward one, like I thought it would be. It was just… sad.

"I… I have to go," I said nervously.

She gave me a hug and said, "Bye," softly.

As soon as I could I ran to the stable, my shoulders slightly drooped and my chest heavy. I hated having to say goodbye. You'd think after doing it so much it would be easy, but it wasn't. An awful stench met my nose as I drew closer to the stables. They needed to be cleaned.

I picked a horse at random. A sturdy, white horse speckled with gray. His name was Checkers. I put his saddle on and set off at a quick pace on the familiar trail. I reached the meadow a half and hour later. I tied Checkers to the willow tree and sat beneath it, my head buried in my hands._ How could I let this happen again?!?_ I thought to myself. I had gotten to close. Much too close. The wall I had put up around my heart when my mom died had been taken down. Brick by brick. She had gotten closer to my heart so it just hurt more when I lost her.

Why did this always happen? It seemed that as soon as I started to love someone, even just as a friend, I lost them. They say it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. In some ways it's true. It's nice while it lasts. But what if you're me? What if _everyone _you've loved you have lost? It just makes it worse. It seems like I'm cursed.

I sighed and looked up at the sky. It was stormy and gray. A couple drops fell from the big fluffy clouds and landed on my arms. The rain started coming down harder and harder until I was practically drenched.

_This is just great, _I thought to myself._ I can't cry, but the Earth can. _It was the truth. Not a single tear had fallen from my eyes since the day my mom died. It was a strange feeling; being so hurt I couldn't cry.

The sun sank lower in the sky. I hopped onto Checkers and rode to the house, the wall up and thicker than ever.

I walked down the empty street, a bag with all of my stuff in it in my hands. I passed a shop filled with bookcases and books. Interested in it, I walked in. An old wrinkled man with whitish gray hair was taking books off the shelves and putting them into boxes. He glanced up at me when I came in.

"We're closing," he said.

"I'm just looking around."

"No, we're closing for good."

"Why," I asked him.

"'Cause I'm old and I can't take care of a store."

"I could take care of it for you," I said casually. After all, I was in need of a job.

He snorted. "You? You're a girl."

I put the hand that wasn't holding my bag on my hips. I hated being scorned just for being a girl. "I'll have you know... that doesn't mean a thing. I can read. Better than most people even. And I've probably got more money than you've seen in your life."

He stopped, shell-shocked. Obviously nobody had spoken to him like that in a long time. He stuck a hand in his pocket and drew out a key. He tossed it to me and I caught it with my free hand.

"It's yours."

"Wha... Seriously?"

"Yeah. Have fun." He stopped boxing books and went through the door in the back of the shop. A couple seconds later he emerged carrying 2 trunks and walked out the front door.


	5. Crap Not Again

6 months later

I got up well before the sun rose, lit a candle and strummed on my guitar. I had saved up for a month to get it so I played gently, hoping I wouldn't snap a string or accidentally drop it. I had an awful feeling someday I'd be walking around my room and I'd trip over something and land on it.

Now it may not seem likely that I'd trip over something, but I'm pretty clumsy. And my room is very, VERY messy. I still love it though.

There are three doors. One leads to the shop. The other brings you to a hallway with a tiny bathroom, miniscule kitchen, and small gravel yard in the back. The other was for my closet. In my closet I had the strangest assortment of clothes. There was the usual: dresses, corsets, petticoats, etc. But as well I had a bunch of men's clothes. Since women couldn't own their own store I had to dress up in brown trousers, leather boots, and a white button down shirt whenever I paid the rent. I also had to pin my hair up under a bandana and wear a man's hat. Strangely enough, it worked.

Anyways, back to my room. The floor was so covered with my junk you couldn't tell what color it was. Dirty clothes… clean clothes… parchment… pens… a swords… a pistol… a dagger or two… all lay scattered around. And books. Lots and lots of books. I always had to watch my step for fear of hurting myself. The only empty spots were right next to my bed, in front of the closet, and around the chair in front of my desk.

An alarm made me jump and I nearly dropped the guitar. 6:00. It was time to open up.

On the way to unlock the door I grabbed a broom and used it to sweep the dirty steps to the shop.

As I was doing so, I noticed a strange man walking down the road with his back to me. He was dressed in dark pants and worn boots. He had a long loose-sleeved white shirt with a vest on top. His black-brown hair was in dreadlocks and a hat atop a red bandana on his head. And he staggered along like a drunk. There was something oddly familiar about him. I hoped he would turn around so I could get a better look.

As if I had willed him into it, he looked over his shoulder at something. I noticed he had beads in his hair and a thin mustache and a beard in three braids. There was also a small red scar on the right side of his chin. Much like my own, it hadn't faded into a white scar. All of this left me with nothing but a more urgent feeling of familiarity. His name was on the tip of my tongue; I just couldn't find it.

My eyes connected with his and I let out a gasp and dropped my broom. It fell with a clatter. I felt myself blush as I bent down to pick it up. _Shit._

I had recognized him. He was the one from my dream, that day I washed up there. In a way, he had saved. I also knew him from somewhere else. When I had lived in Port Royal, I saw him being captured.

Flashback

It was like any normal day of school. I woke up early in the morning to clean up the classroom. At exactly 7:30 there was a knock on the door.

"Get the door for me Kia, will you?" called my mom from upstairs. I opened the door and a crowd of kids came in. They're ages varied from tiny toddlers to ones my age. (I was 20 then). They were all getting in their desks when my mom came downstairs. Her bright blonde hair was in a ponytail and she had a bit of kohl around her blue eyes.

"Good morning class!" she said as soon as everyone was quiet.

"Good morning Mrs. Mathers!" sang the class.

She beamed at us. "So today we'll just start up where we left off yesterday. Does that sound good?" The second she got the words out the corner where the teens were erupted in chatter. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my mystery book I was reading and flipped to the right page.

We spent the entire morning on reading. Normally, I would have been ecstatic that reading was drawn out for so long, but I finished my book within the first hour. With no books in the house that I hadn't read and reread a million times, I decided to go to the library.

My mother was near the front, trying to convince a boy that his "D" was backwards. "No, it's supposed to curve towards the right." Despite her attempts he remained adamant. She shook her head at him, and then noticed I was standing next to him. "Oh! Kia," she said, "what is it?"

"I've finished my book."

"Of course." I grinned.

"So I was wondering if I could stop by the library to get another one."

A smile played at the corners of her mouth. "Come back soon."

I rushed out the door and down to the docks. If there was one benefit of living in Port Royal, it was the docks. Full of ships and people, it was always a place to go when I just wanted a break from everything.

Although I had told my mom I wanted to get another book, I decided to walk around there.

As I approached the waterfront, I noticed a huge crowd of red coats surrounding the governor's daughter and a strangely dressed man. Edging closer, I noticed he had the air and look of a pirate. One of the red coats shook his hand and revealed something on his wrist, then said something that sounded like "Pirate." After further talk, which I couldn't make head or tales of, one of the men grabbed him and put him in shackles.

Elizabeth, the governor's daughter, stood up for the pirate; I heard something about him being her rescuer and I wondered why a pirate would want to save a governor's daughter. A smile broke out on his face and he threw his chains over her head and pulled them tight. He whispered something in her ear. She grimaced as she put his effects on him. He had a seductive smirk on his face. Pointing his gun at Elizabeth's head, he backed toward the water at the edge of the dock.

"Gentleman, milady, you will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow." He said.

He turned, grabbed the rope that was hanging there, and kicked down a rusty, metal lever. On the other end of the rope, a cannon fell and crashed into the dock, breaking the wood and taking a couple men with it. The rope with the pirate flew up in the air and the post the rope was attached to begin to swing around in circles. After a couple of rotations the red coats began to fire at him. He then jumped off of the rope onto the other post about 10 feet away.

Miraculously missing everyone's shots, he stood there for a moment to catch his balance. He then shuffled to the side and used his chains to slide down a rope and landed on the pathway leading into the town, right next to where I was hiding. The second I saw him coming I hid behind a barrel that was at the edge of the path for fear of getting shot. He ran down the path and across a tiny bridge, arms flailing, avoiding the guns. Turning around a corner, he ran out of sight, followed closely by numerous red coats.

I sat behind the barrel for a moment while my brain tried to process what had just happened. _A pirate, _I thought. _A pirate is in Port Royal. _I looked down the trail at the clouds of dust the red coats had left behind. _I hope he gets away._ I smiled, but then shook my head at my thoughts. He was a… pirate. An unlawful man who probably did nothing but kill men and seduce women. After shrugging off my musings, I set off to do what I had originally planned to do.

As I passed the blacksmith's shop I saw another crowd of red coats, carrying a body. Looking closer, I realized that they were carrying the pirate. _Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead. _I thought. I then overhead the blacksmith bragging to his friends. He said he managed to catch the pirate, single-handed.

"Hit him over the head, I did." He puffed out his chest arrogantly. He was a short, dirty man with a rough accent and mangy hairdo. "You see, I was taking a… a… walk around the block. A walk, yeah," he said unconvincingly. "Anyways, I saw the, err, commotion in the town and rushed back to my workplace. When I entered through a back door I saw poor Will there." He grunted in the direction of a handsome man sitting on a well. "The pirate had cornered him. I grabbed my… I mean… his… empty rum bottle," His shifty, beady eyes swept the road, looking for anyone that had heard his blunder. I momentarily pretended to be enthralled by a disfigured rock that was lying on the ground. He shook off the mistake. "I smashed it over his head. Reckon that'll leave a mark, eh?" The large group of awful-smelling men surrounding him guffawed loudly and moved away, talking at the top of their voices the whole way to the bar.

End of flashback

I was daydreaming, remembering that day, when I saw a massive, mean-looking man looking at a poster. As soon as he left, I walked over to it. It was a worn piece of paper with the words _Wanted: Jack Sparrow _on it. Scribbled in before the word _Jack _was the word _Captain_. There was a picture of the pirate plastered in the middle and a number with a lot of 0s at the bottom.

I ran after the so-called Captain Jack Sparrow. When I had caught up with him I shouted "Sparrow!" He didn't react but I knew he could hear me.

"Jack Sparrow." I said, starting to get annoyed.

He turned and said to me, "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow." I said tightly.

"Yes?" I rolled my eyes.

"I think you need to be more careful."

"And I think I can take care of meself, luv."

"There's people out here who would gladly turn you in for a spot of cash." I pointed to the wanted sign behind him.

"I know," he said, examining the poster. "This picture is awful. I'm much more handsome in real life." I groaned. He could be so frustrating! And he was so self-centered. Even if he was handsome…

"I just… don't want you to get caught."

"Don't worry, luv. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." With a smug look on his face he walked off swaying to and fro. He was starting to make me feel dizzy. I sat down and my stomach gave a lurch. I clutched it and it swirled around a bit. Figuring I was hungry, I set off towards the bakery.

Jack Sparrow's POV

I lumbered down the road of the tiny port, still feeling slightly drunk from the night before and my head pounding from the hangover. As I was walking, it felt as if someone was watching me. I turned my head to see and discovered that some really was watching me—it wasn't just my imagination.

A very pretty woman with pale-reddish skin wearing a brown, poofy dress that flattered her body but wasn't slutty (unlike the "ladies" in Tortuga) stood on the steps leading to a bookstore. We locked eyes. Hers shined a deep green in the sunlight. There was a glint on mischievousness and even some pain in the way she looked at me. Before I could get a closer look, the broom she held in her hands fell to the ground. Her cheeks flushed a deep red as she picked it up. She looked angry. Not at me, I'm sure, but more at herself.

Her eyes had a glazed look to them. Like she could see everything but wasn't really seeing it. She was lost in her mind. I waited a couple minutes to see if she would look up, but she didn't so I kept walking.

After a few minutes I heard a girl (no doubt the one who was staring at me) shout "Sparrow!" I ignored her. After all, I'm not Sparrow. I'm _Captain _Sparrow.

"Jack Sparrow," she said. I decided to mess with her a little. I spun around and faced her.

"I'm sorry. Did you say something?" I asked her. She got the cutest expression on her face. It was a mixture of frustration and annoyance. Up close I saw she had two bright red marks on each cheek and a pair or silver-rimmed glasses.

"Captain Jack Sparrow," she finally said, her teeth clenched.

"Yes?" I tried hard not to smile as she rolled her eyes in a motherly way.

"I think you should be more careful." This was interesting. As a pirate I've found that practically no one looks out for each other. Yet this woman, a complete stranger, didn't want me to get caught. Interesting…

"And I think I can take care of meself, luv."

"There's people out here who gladly turn you in for a spot of cash." She pointed to something behind me. There was a wanted sign with my name at the top, a picture, and a reward on it. Earlier I had written _Captain _before my name. Stupid people. They could never remember that simple word.

"I know," I told her. "This picture is awful," I commented. "I'm much more handsome in real life." She groaned and I fought back the urge to laugh.

"I just…" she struggled to get the words out, "don't want you to get caught." That was _very _interesting. I wondered what reason I had ever giver her to care so much.

"Don't worry, luv. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." I walked away, still staggering from the alcohol.

1 hour later

I sat alone at a table in a pub, drinking rum. I still hadn't fully recovered from my hangover, but I didn't care.

A large, beefy man came up to me when I was about halfway done.

"Jack Sparrow?" he asked me.

"Aye."

He brought a wooden plank out of his coat. Before I could react he brought it down on my head and everything went black.


	6. Welcome Aboard

Kia's POV

I woke up to the sound of a drum. At first I thought it was nothing but then I remembered Sparrow. I wore under my breath. Dressing quickly in the poofiest dress I had, I planned out how I would rescue him. I strapped my sword to my side, hid it under one of the ruffles, and ran to the main square, hoping I wasn't too late.

Jack Sparrow's POV

I stood on a wooden thingy (can't find any other word for it) that was raised high above the crowd of people. A rope hung loosely around my neck. A guy in a funny white wig with a scroll was reading off all of the "crimes" I had committed. I laughed at a couple, remembering what had happened.

Since I had gotten caught so suddenly, I had no plan for escaping. I was starting to get worried when I saw a figure moving quickly through the crowd, head down. I caught a glint of silver. Smiling to myself, I waited patiently (mostly) to be saved.

Kia's POV

I worked my way through the crowd, weaving to avoid running into people. When I got to the front I drew my sword and threw it towards Sparrow. It spun through the air a couple of times and sliced through the rope above his head like butter. He ran towards me. I grabbed a dagger from my boot and cut the ropes that bound his wrists together. I ran off towards my sword when I had finished.

"Where are you going?" I didn't answer, I just ran. With a groan he followed me, pulling the rope around his neck off as he went.

Once I had gotten my sword back I sprinted in the direction of the bookstore, my sword out in front of me, daring anyone to stand in our way. Sparrow grabbed his effects from the frightened man who was holding them and ran after me.

We hid in the bookstore and the soldiers who were trying to catch us ran past without looking.

"What was that all about?" Sparrow said, slightly out of breath.

"It was given to me by a friend." I panted. "And it's my only one."

Staying low to the ground, I moved to the back of the store and went into my little "house". Sparrow followed suit. I grabbed my bag and began stuffing all of my things in it.

"What are you doing?" asked Sparrow.

"Packing."

"Why?"

"Because they'll be after me now. I can't stay here." Sparrow sat on my bed.

"Well you're not coming with me."

"And why not?"

"I'm a pirate."

"Yeah. So?"

"I know you want me but this isn't the only option."

I stared at him. "Ew."

"Got yourself a husband, luv?"

I refused to meet his eye. "I can't… don't have a husband."

"Well then what about your family? What'll you tell them?"

"They're dead."

"Ah… Sorry about that."

I stayed silent. Once I had finished packing the things on my desk I set my bag on the bed and moved to the closet. I threw my favorite dress to Sparrow.

"This is very pretty, luv. But I don't think it'll fit me."

"Just put it in the bag." I didn't have time for jokes. He chuckled. Along with most of my clothes I packed a ton of books that I thought would come in handy. I brought a couple of first aid books, a sailing book, a fencing one… I even brought a book about Sparrow but I didn't let him see it. I also made sure to bring my guitar.

After we were finished we went out the front and ran to the shore. A couple of times we had to duck into alleyways to avoid getting caught. We made it to the beach unharmed. Sparrow dragged a small dingy (I think that's what they're called) out from behind a couple of big rocks. I tripped getting in and Sparrow laughed at me until I glared at him.

Only a couple minutes of rowing late we came up to a huge ship sporting a black a sail with a skull and two crossing cutlasses on it. I climbed up the side and stood there, staring at it in awe.

With a wide grin on his face, Sparrow said, "Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, luv."

And for once I grinned back at him.


	7. Spare Me the Pain

I walked down the length of the ship, feeling the smooth, yet splintered wood railings and the rough ropes. I tried to take everything in. I looked over the side of the ship at the clear blue-green water. As I did so, the locket I had hidden in my bodice fell out and stopped short of falling to the water below by the silver chain around my neck. I quickly leaned back in to the ship and tucked it back in my dress.

"What you got there, luv?"

"Nothing," I snapped at him. "And stop calling me 'luv'," I added in.

"Let me see it… luv" he said, just to annoy me.

"Fine." I unhooked the chain and handed it over to him.

He examined it. "How does it open?"

I shrugged. "I can't seem to figure it out."

He shook it gently. There was a rustle of paper. "There's something in here."

"Too bad we can't get it out."

He handed it back to me. "Ye'll figure it out someday."

I latched the locket around my neck again. It was weird; it felt heavier than before. For the first time, I realized we were alone. "Where's the crew?"

Sparrow gestured towards the town. "We're leaving tonight so they ought to be get here soon. I'll admit, luv, they're not going to be particularly pleased you're here."

"Why?" I asked indignantly. "Because I'm a girl?"

"It could possibly have something to do with that…"

"Well they'll just have to deal with it." I crossed my arms defiantly. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something but decided against it. "Where am I sleeping?"

He led me down the stairs to a room below deck. It was about the same size as the bedroom in my old "house". There was a tiny dresser, a bed, and a desk with a large mirror on it. I threw my bag on the bed and plopped on it. Sparrow sat next to me.

"Why are you here?" asked Sparrow. "I mean, besides the fact that I'm here. Most women would die if they came on a ship like this. You do know this is a pirate ship, right?"

"Of course I do. I came here because…" I tried not to let the truth slip. "I'm wanted now. I had no choice." It was true… mostly.

"That's not it." Damn.

"I want to find my mother… my _real _mother. The other one's dead."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know."

"Who is she?"

I bit my lip. "I can't tell you."

"Why?"

I ignored him. "And why did you let me on your ship?"

"I don't know." His voice was sincere. I fiddle with my locket. I had a habit of doing that whenever I got nervous. "But it's nice having you here. It can get so… lonely," he whispered in my ear. His warm breath made me shiver. I sighed. I had known this would happen sooner or later. So I just stood up and left.

He followed me. "What?" I pretended he wasn't there. "Come on… You know you want me." I could feel my temper flaring. "What?" he asked again. Then, I burst.

"I don't know you! And you sure as hell don't know me. So don't go trying anything!" I stomped off in a huff but he just kept following me around.

"I'm sorry." Yeah, right. "Let's start over, shall we?" I didn't answer. "Hello, I'm Jack Sparrow." He said in a false polite voice and extended a hand. I started at it.

"Charmed." I said sarcastically.

"And you are…?"

"Kia."

"Pleased to meet you Kia." He waited for me to say something but I just glared at him. "Now that wasn't so bad. Was it?" Again, I pretended he wasn't there. I looked towards the shore. A couple dinghies were out on the water and coming to the ship.

"Crew's here." Said Sparrow.

"Good."

They started piling on the deck. Most eyed me suspiciously. A few looked like they wanted to say something but didn't. Finally a roundish man with black hair and a gray beard spoke up.

"Who's this?" he said. "Ye know it's bad luck to have a woman aboard."

"Well Master Gibbs, she insisted," replied Sparrow. The man named Gibbs grumbled a bit but didn't object.

Sparrow cleared his throat to make an announcement. "As some of you may have noticed, we have a new crewmember." He gestured madly with his hands in my direction.

"Why is she here?" shouted someone in the crowd.

"Like I said, she insisted on coming. Now…"

Another voice interrupted him. "But she's a girl!"

"Well, she did… assist in my escape."

"Assisted in your escape?!" He was annoying, aggravating, and full of himself and normally I could handle that. But this was the straw that broke the camels back. I was nearly shouting at him. "I saved your ASS thank you very much!" I heard a couple snickers.

"Yes, of course you did, luv." He winked at the crew. Infuriated, I slapped him—hard—and stormed off. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stretch out his slightly reddish jaw.

That night

Knock knock.

"Go away." I said to whoever was banging on my door.

"Dinner's ready." Sparrow's voice was muffled from the thick door that separated us. I was grateful for it.

"Great. Have fun." I said sarcastically. I heard him sigh and he waited for me to come out. Fat chance. He finally gave up and walked off. When I was sure he was gone I ventured out and went on deck. Because it was dinnertime nobody was there. I sat on the edge of the rail and looked out in the sky.

The sun was setting. The light turned the underside of the clouds a light orange and the tops were a light blue. Nearby the sun it got more and more orange. Around the sun it was pink. I watched in fascination as the sun sank lower, slowly turning the sky bright pink, until it disappeared completely, leaving behind a green horizon and a dark, navy blue sky.

I looked straight up at the moon and stars. I watched as a shooting star went by. I wished that I could finally find my mother. I was looking so intently at them—wishing hard—that I didn't notice Sparrow walking up to me.

"Hello," he whispered in my ear.

I jumped and lost my balance. I fell tumbling down to the water. Even though I managed to take a breath before hitting the ice-cold water, I still got some up my nose. I opened my eyes and for a second, I couldn't tell which way was up. But then I saw the underside of the Pearl and swam towards it. I grabbed some ropes on the side and climbed up.

Dripping water all over the place, I walked over to Sparrow who was looking at me, shocked.

"Err… sorry," he said.

"It's okay. I was in need of a bath." I said, shivering as the wind chilled my wet skin.

"Not just about that. I'm sorry for not giving you credit earlier, luv. You did save my ass."

"Well I guess I did kind of… overreact…" I admitted.

"Just a bit." I smiled guiltily at him. He took another step towards me and brought his face up close to mine. "I forgive ye."

I had the strangest urge; I wanted to kiss him. I can't exactly explain why, but it was still there; that want. But I was scared. Very scared. The last time this had happened… it hadn't exactly ended well.

I pulled away quickly and ran down the stairs. My heart was pounding like a sledgehammer and my stomach was gurgling around so much I was about to puke. Why did he make me feel this way? It was amazing; exhilarating, but at the same time it was scary. I didn't know why this was happening. I didn't like it, yet at the same time, I loved it.

Feeling annoyed at myself, I decided to play guitar to get rid of my frustration. First I turned it and then played around with some chords for a while. Then I wrote the chorus to a song. It went like this:

Please don't make me,

Spare me the pain.

Cause I don't want to lose you again.

I liked the sound of it a lot but I couldn't anywhere past that part. Even more annoyed at myself than before, I put away the guitar and went to bed.


	8. A Gentle Kiss

The next morning, I woke up and dressed in my man's clothes. Instead of wearing my hair up though, I let it fall down to my waist. It was pretty tangled but I couldn't brush it because it's curly and would frizz out. I also put some kohl on my eyes, making them pop, and went out on deck.

I could feel the eyes of the crew following me as I walked up to Sparrow.

"What am I doing today?" I asked him.

"Err…" He looked at my body for so long that I waved a hand in his face. He shook himself back to reality and shouted, "Gibbs!"

The aging man who said I was bad luck the day before came up to us. "Aye?" he said.

"Show Kia the ropes… literally."

"Aye, Captain." He faced me. "This way, miss."

I followed him around for the next few hours and he showed me how to do everything from tying knots to steering the ship. I found out that he was actually a pretty nice guy, once you got past the first impression. Throughout all this time, I got plenty more stares.

When it was finally time for lunch, I was so hungry I could have eaten a horse. (Not that I would have wanted to). I hadn't eaten since the morning before, and I was curious to see what the food was like on the ship.

The second I walked into the room where everyone ate, I nearly threw up. The smell was repulsive. I had noticed it earlier; they all had the same salty smell of the sea. But now, mixed with a lot of B.O. it was disgusting. I sat down next to Gibbs, feeling much less hungry than before.

I faced him. "When was the last time any of you had a bath?"

"…" He paused to think about it. "What month be it?"

I groaned. Just then, a man in a chef's outfit carrying a huge bowl of soup walked through a door that probably led to the kitchen. He set it on the large wooden table and we each got bowls. It was beef stew with celery and carrot. And it was delicious. I had never been the greatest cook, so I had a lot of admiration for those who were.

For the rest of the day Gibbs showed me all there was to sailing. Of course, he couldn't show me certain things, like what to do if it's raining or we're in a storm at night; those skills would come with experience. I was thankful for it. There was already so much to learn that by the end, I felt like my head might have exploded from all of the information I had to remember.

Later that night, after dinner, the men sat around and drank rum. To their surprise, I drank with them. But I only had two drinks. Many years before then I had made a promise to myself to never abuse alcohol, but I still had it every once in a while. After all, it had been a long, hard day.

Even though I stopped at two drinks, the men went on to have three even four. A couple of them passed out from having so much to drink. They were all laughing and talking very loudly. I joined in most of the laughter but my heart wasn't exactly in it. I could tell Sparrow was staring at me, even without looking up. I got up to go to bed, and he followed me.

I could practically feel his breath on my neck as I walked to my room. I stepped in, turned around to close the door, and there he stood.

"Might I have a word?" he asked.

"I guess," I said reluctantly.

He sat on my bed. "We're sailing now."

"I noticed."

"We could come across another ship at anytime."

"So?"

"Can you or can you not fight?"

"With a sword?"

"With anything."

"I'm pretty good with my fists. And I've got a deadly aim. But as for swords…" I didn't want to say it, but I wasn't the greatest fencer. The only real fight I'd been in, I had lost. Although I practiced plenty, it didn't do much good with no one to fight against. "With swords, I haven't that much experience."

"Then you'll need lessons."

I stared at him, puzzled. He raised a single eyebrow at me. I realized what he was asking. "Would you…?"

"You want to be trained by the best, right?"

I smiled. "Thank you."

"Wow, luv. I think that might be the first time you've shown any gratefulness at all."

I didn't meet his eye. "So when do these "lessons" start?"

"How about right now?"

"Okay…" He stood up, drew his sword and pointed it at me. Hesitantly, I brought out my own and challenged him.

"No," said Sparrow in exasperation. "You're doing it wrong. Hold your sword like this… and put your feet like this…" He showed me how to hold the sword with a firm, but loose grip so I could swing it around with ease. Positioning my feet about shoulder-widths apart, he then slowly jabbed to the right. He demonstrated how to stop a simple attack with a simple block. Once I had learned how to do that much, we fought for real… mostly. Sparrow went really easy on me. Once I had managed to master the basics, he started teaching me more complicated attacks and blocks. By the end of the hour I was sweating profusely.

"Are we… done yet?" I gasped.

"I think you've done well for tonight." He was barely out of breath. I lay on the bed, breathing heavily. "How much experience did you have?"

"I was only in one fight and I didn't win. After that, I tried to practice, but I was never taught how to fight correctly so it didn't do much good."

"What happened?"

"I fought and I lost. That's all there is to it." I said. I could tell he wanted to know more, but I didn't continue.

"You're very frustrating, luv."

I turned and stared him right in the eye. "We all have our secrets. You have yours and I have mine. Perhaps someday we might share these secrets, but until then, we'll keep them to ourselves."

"Aye. We do." He was lost in thought and I was lost in his dark, handsome face. As I realized this, I quickly turned away and swore at myself. Why did I keep doing this? I knew his reputation; he was a womanizer. Any move he tried to pull on me was no doubt filled with bad intentions. And if I did give in, he would just throw me away once he was through. Even if he didn't decide to do that, he would die soon anyways. They always did.

I stared off into space and vaguely wondered how long it would take for everything to fall to pieces this time. Sparrow was staring at me. And when I stared back at him, he did nothing. He didn't stop looking. "What?" I asked.

Suddenly, he reached in and kissed me, gently. At first he surprised me so much I couldn't move. For a second, I let him kiss me—kissed him back a little too—but then I resisted and pulled away.

"What was that all about?" I asked, slightly mad. But I couldn't help a faint blush reach my cheeks.

"Couldn't resist myself, luv." (Can't you imagine him saying that)! He smiled slightly, showing his gold teeth.

"I have to go to bed now," I said, rather hurriedly. "I'd like you to leave now."

"Oh, but it's nighttime. And this room is so warm… and cozy." He scooted closer to me.

"Leave. Now." I said in a raised voice.

With a sigh, he got up and was about to walk out the door when he looked back at me. "If you get lonely… I'm right down the hall."

"I wouldn't go to your room in a million years, Sparrow." I said in a cold voice.

"Call me Jack."

"Sparrow."

"Jack."

"Sparrow."

He heaved a great sigh. "I'll be seeing you in the morning."

I fixed my eyes on the ceiling until I could no longer hear his receding footsteps. I kept staring there until I dozed off to sleep.


	9. Teaching the Teacher

He got me. Again. Damn it! This time, I was pinned up against the rail of the ship. The blade of his sword was held an inch away from my throat. My own was lying harmlessly on the ground, 10 feet away.

"You put too much into it. It's important to have power, but speed is just as important." scolded Sparrow.

I groaned. We had been fencing for the past three hours and I was getting bored and tired. "Do we have to keep doing this?" I sounded like a whiny kid.

Sparrow lowered his blade and sheathed it. "You can have a five minute break."

"Gee, thanks." I said in a sarcastic voice. I went off to get a drink. In the kitchen, I grabbed a glass of water and brought it out on deck. Everyone was crowded around Sparrow.

"Do it! Do it!" they chanted.

"You want me to do it?" he asked, obviously enjoying the attention.

"Yeah!" they shouted.

"Okay!" He grinned at me and winked. I rolled my eyes. "I'll do it."

The crowd parted so that he could do… whatever it is they wanted him to do. He ran a couple yards then did a no-handed cartwheel: an aerial. The crowd cheered. I laughed so much the sip of water I had taken nearly came up.

Sparrow approached me. "What?"

"It's just… not the most exciting move, that's all." Not to mention how badly done it was. His knees were so bent he was almost curled up in a ball, and his hands nearly touched the floor at the end.

"You think you could do better?"

"I bet I can do better," I said cockily.

"How much?"

I thought for a moment. "Three shillings."

"Make it five and it's a bet."

"Deal." His rough, tan and blackened hand shook my own blistered, slightly tanned, and blackish hand. What you don't realize is that when you are constantly working with your hands on a ship, they not only become rough, they get stained a black color. So we shook our weather-beaten hands and it was a deal.

Sparrow went first. He jumped backwards and did a very choppy back handspring. Everyone shouted and cheered.

I scoffed and handed my glasses to him so I wouldn't lose them. I stepped back so I could get a running start.

"Copycat." yelled Sparrow. I ignored him, and did my trick.

I ran a couple paces then sprang off with my feet and landed first on my right hand, and then my left with the left turned into the side of my right. I landed with both feet on the floor. But I wasn't finished just yet. Immediately, I jumped back onto my hands and sprang off of them onto my feet again. I jumped backwards, tucking my knees tightly to my chest, and landed on the balls of my feet.

Altogether, it was a round off, back handspring, back tuck.

The crew was shouting and cheering for me. As I walked back to Sparrow he silently gave me back my glasses. I set them on the bridge of my nose and held out a hand.

"Five shillings please."

He fished around in his pockets and retrieved a leather bag that jingled as he moved it around. Reluctantly, he pulled out five shiny shillings. He hesitated as he held them above my hand. "A deal's a deal," I told him. He dropped the shillings in my hand. "Thank you," I said and walked off, stowing the shillings in my pocket.

"Kia!" called a voice from behind my back. I turned and found myself face to face with Sparrow. "I was wondering…" It pained him to say this, I could tell, "If you could teach me some of those moves."

I considered it. It would be pretty fun to finally be able to teach the teacher.

"Sure," I agreed, "I'll teach you,"

I started with simple things like handstands, cartwheels, bridges, etc… For a normal person, it would be pretty hard to learn. But for Sparrow it was practically impossible. I kept trying to teach him to keep balance, but he always fell over. It was hilarious!

After he finally learned how to do the easy things, he wanted me to teach him how to do a back tuck. I find the best way to practice it is to jump off the ship backwards and try to hit the water with straight legs. He was a bit unwilling to get wet, but was eager to learn how to do the flip so he did it anyways.

He climbed up the side of the ship and I couldn't help but laugh at him. He was dripping water all over the place and the kohl on his eyes was running down his cheeks. He flung his sleeve at me, spraying water onto my face.

"Hey!" I shouted.

He smiled at me. "Couldn't resist meself, luv."

I punched him playfully on the arm… mostly. He mouthed the word 'ow' and tried to punch me back. I blocked it easily. I took my fighting stance: feet spread apart, on my toes, with my hands in fists in front of my face.

"You wanna fight?"

"All right," said Sparrow. He copied my pose, and lunged at me with a fist. I stepped out of the way quickly and grabbed his wrist. I twisted it behind his back. You might be thinking I went a little harsh on him. It's true, I did. But it was payback for the countless times he had defeated me when we were sword fighting.

"Ow," he said out loud this time.

I smiled to myself and released him. He rubbed his wrist.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" he asked.

"Fine," I said in an exasperated voice, but secretly I was ecstatic. I was finally going to get him back.

I taught him how to stand and how to protect his weakest parts. I also showed him how to use other people's weak areas to his advantage. I told him to aim all his blows at the stomach, feet, nose, and in between the legs. Once we had finally finished with all that, we fought.

He lunged a fist at my face. I ducked and swung around a leg to trip him while crouching. He jumped high into the air as my leg passed underneath him. While he was still up in the air I kicked off of my legs, hard, lifted myself into the air, and arched my back. I landed softly on my feet in front of Sparrow and promptly punched him in the stomach. He doubled over and I gave him a hard karate chop on the back. His knees buckled and then finally gave way. He lied on the ground face down. With a groan, he lifted himself up from the floor.

"Well, that went well," he said sarcastically.

"You just didn't recover fast enough. It was a very good jump but you weren't ready for my next move. And, you underestimated me. That's never a smart thing to do." I told him.

"When is this going to end?" said Sparrow with a sigh.

"You wanted to be taught, so I'm teaching you."

"And who taught you?"

"My mom. She was a teacher and she felt it's important to know how to defend you, especially for girls."

"And she learned it…?"

"From a book." He made a face. "Do you read Sparrow?"

"Only if I must."

"You ought to know that you can learn a lot from books."

"Of course, luv. Whatever you say," he said in an amused voice. That pissed me off. It may seem stupid to get upset over something as little as books, but it wasn't that. It was what he said and the way he said it. It made me want to strangle him.

"Come on, let's get on with this," I practically growled at him.

We raised our fists to our faces and balanced on the balls of our feet. Immediately, I swung my leg around in a high kick. I didn't hit him, but he flinched and backed up an inch. Using the momentum from the kick, I spun in a half-circle so that my back was facing him. I stepped backwards and jabbed my elbow into his guts. Clutching his stomach, he bent over slightly. I spun around again and kicked him in the backside. Once again, he lay on the ground, his nose touching the floor.

He got up and wagged a finger at me. "I meant to do that," he said dizzily.

"Of course, Sparrow. Whatever you say," I said coolly.

At that moment he reminded me of a fish. The normally calm and collected Jack Sparrow was at a loss for words. His mouth was open but no sound came out. I turned and walked away. He somehow managed to get a hold of himself and I heard his heavy footsteps following me.

"Listen, Kia. I…" I whirled around and brought my flushed, furious face up to his surprised one.

"No! You listen! I'm sick and tired of you always being so pompous and full of yourself and thinking that you can do anything and get away with it! Well, here's a news flash for you: you can't! Your actions have consequences and…" I stopped. I had realized that I wasn't really talking about Sparrow. I was talking about myself. The fury slowly turned into sorrow. "You'll just end up hurting the people you love." He stared at me curiously. Then he kissed me.

All of the anger that had ebbed away earlier came rushing back and it was twice as bad as before. Furious, I broke the lock between our lips and stepped back. I couldn't decide on something to do to him that would be as bad as his kissing me. So, I punched him in the gut again, this time harder. As I ran to my room, I felt my face grow hot. _Stupid Sparrow, _I thought to myself.

Jack Sparrow's POV – That night

I couldn't help myself. She was just so cute when she got mad. Her face got all red and her deep green eyes got even darker. And that attitude of hers… nobody had that. None of the women I had ever seduced (or tried to) had acted the way she did. They were just brainless zombies. Kia was a real person. So, I succumbed to the urge and kissed her. _So now she hates me, _I thought. _Even more._

I figured the right to do would be to apologize. Damn, I was never good at that. First I checked her room, but it was empty. After searching everywhere below deck, I nearly smacked myself for not realizing that she was probably _above _deck. Smart me.

Kia was sitting on the railing, just like the first night she arrived. Her head was titled up to the night sky. Instead of surprising her this time, I made sure to step loudly. She jerked herself back to her senses and looked at me. Her eyes were wide and watery. Without a word, I sat next to her.

Hesitantly, I reached a hand up to her head and stroked her hair. She laid her head on my shoulder.

"Bet you're wondering what I'm doing out here," said Kia.

"Aye, luv."

"Today is… was the day my dad…" she swallowed, "gave me these scars." She motioned to her face. I gently traced the bright red marks. One caressed her cheek in a curve and the other went straight down.

"What happened?"

She took a deep breath. "It all started with his drinking problem…"


	10. A Hidden Past

Kia's POV

It was hard to think about, but it was even harder to voice my thoughts. Over the years, I had learned to push everything away, block it out. I had only told one person. I thought I had loved him. Then he went and broke my heart. Obviously, I was reluctant to tell Sparrow. But I had read somewhere that it was healthy to let it all out. It was one of the steps to accepting things. So I told him.

"My dad would go out to the pub with his 'buddies' and get drunk. Then he'd come back and… he'd hit me. It was never my mom or my sister, Kayla. Just me. I always knew there was something he resented about me. One night, I burst. I yelled at him, told him he was a lazy bum or something. I don't remember exactly. But I remember his reaction. His already red face turned a bright scarlet color and he stood up, staggering over to me. I backed up away from him until I ran into the wall. He drew his sword and slashed at me, giving me this." I pointed to the horizontal scar on the left side of my face.

"'That ought to teach you a lesson,' he said.

"We had both forgotten about Mom and Kayla. They were cowering in a corner. Tears were streaming down Kayla's face. Although he had hit me plenty of times, he had never done anything like that. I was in shock though so I couldn't feel anything. My face was numb and cold.

"'No!' screamed Mom, rising to her feet. 'Please, don't hurt her.' She was crying as well. I probably should have been crying too, but what was happening hadn't reached me yet.

"'I'm sorry, what did you say?' Dad approached Mom, shaking slightly with rage… and possibly alcohol. 'Are you trying to defend her? She's not even ours!' The words didn't seem to register in my mind. They went in one ear and out the other.

"As he got closer and closer to Mom I realized that he was going to hurt her. I sprinted over and planted myself between them. 'No,' was all I said.

"With a growl, he cut my face again on the other cheek. Before he could decorate my face any more, he fell over backwards, out cold. We were examining him, trying to figure out what to do when we heard the first cannon shot. It was a pirate raid." I laughed.

"In fact, later I heard it was this pirate, ship, but with a different captain, Barbossa. Anyways, we spent the entire time hidden in our storage. We could hear shouts and crashes and more cannon shots above. Mom spent the entire time bandaging up my face. The shock had worn off and it hurt like hell. I also got an awful headache, making it worse. I was pretty miserable.

"When everything grew quiet we ventured out. Everything and anything of value had been stolen. And my dad… he was dead. He lay in a pool of blood; someone had stabbed him. I felt like puking, and I nearly did. Mom looked away and covered her mouth with a thin, pale hand. And Kayla just stood there, shaking. She hadn't stopped crying throughout the whole ordeal. I led her away while my mom cleaned up.

"That day left us all scarred. I grew hard, if that makes any sense. I tried to block myself from the world, pretending nothing had ever happened. My mom, on the other hand, was constantly sad. I'd find her staring off into space—dreaming—all of the time. At one point they were in love, and despite how awful he was, I know she missed him. Kayla was the worse off, though. She became so weak and fragile that it was as if any little thing would break her.

"A year or two later, Kayla got sick. Deathly sick. She died holding my hand. One moment she was there—her tiny chest slowly moving up and down—and the next she was gone. All that was left of her were the memories I kept."

"How old was she?" I jumped a little. I had nearly forgotten that Sparrow was there.

"Only 12."

"I never had any siblings."

"Shame. It was nice to have Kayla, while it lasted… even if she was a pain… Now, let me finish the story." He shut his mouth and allowed me to continue.

"A few years after that, my mom was out collecting water from the well when she found a runaway slave and brought him home. She had a good heart, but she should have known it was hopeless. Our stupid neighbors ratted us out. A parade of soldiers came into our house, captured the slave, and led him away. One of them told us we were going to be put away in a cell for the rest of our lives for treason.

"But my mom objected. 'No,' she said. 'Go ahead and kill me, but let her go free.'

"'No Mom, you can't!' I objected. 'Please don't.' I grabbed onto Mom, hugging her tightly. A man took hold of me and tried to drag me away. I clutched even tighter.

"'It's okay, Kia,' said Mom in a strangely calm voice.

"'No,' I repeated, 'it's not okay!' I was crying, fast and hard. The soldier finally managed to peel me away from her. They locked her in thick, heavy irons and led her way. I kept thrashing and kicking long after she was gone. When the man holding my hands behind my back let go and left, I collapsed onto the ground, weeping with sorrow.

"Somehow I managed to find the strength to visit her in prison. The second she saw me she sprang up and walked to the cell door. Her eyes were red and puffy.

"'Why did you do this? How could you leave me alone?' I was angry with her, yet I was on the verge of tears.

"'I've lived my life already. You've got yours left in front of you. It shouldn't be spent inside of a cell,' she replied. Her voice was shaky and sure at the same time. 'Someday, I hope you'll understand.'

"Hot, scalding tears fell down my cheeks, but I angrily brushed them away with the back of my hand. I didn't get it; I hated her. I turned to walk away.

"'Wait!' shouted my mom. I stopped, but didn't turn to look at her. 'I… I have something to tell you,' she said.

"'What?' I asked, angrily.

"'You… Well, I… You're father and…' She struggled to find what to say. 'You're adopted.'

"'What?' I repeated, this time shocked. I turned and faced her. I had spent my whole life with her so most of the time I could tell when she was telling the truth and when she was lying. From what I could see, this was true.

"She nodded, sadly. 'We used to live in Spanish Town, before we moved to Port Royal and…'"

Sparrow interrupted me. "You lived in Port Royal?"

"Yes, now shut up, please, so I can finish." I cleared my throat and continued. "'We used to live in Spanish Town, before we moved to Port Royal and I was a midwife there. One day, a woman came in saying that she was about to give birth. I had promised to never turn anyone down so I helped her. She…' Mom laughed a little. 'She swore like hell giving birth. She had a little girl… with green eyes just like hers. She said she couldn't keep the baby. She knew that I would take good care of her.

"'Why did she give me up?' My anger for my current mom had shifted to my real mom. Why didn't she want me?

"'Well, I didn't find out just then. She just said that she couldn't keep you, but that she would have if she could. I found out later that she was Anne Bonny, a pirate. She had escaped from prison and was on the run, as usual for pirates. There were wanted ads posted everywhere, but they never found her. Your father and I decided to move to Port Royal for our safety. Your father… he never really approved of me keeping you.

"'So that's why he hated me.'

"'Oh honey, he never hated you. He just… didn't like haven't another mouth to feed. Then again, he never quite liked anything.'

"I sighed. It was hard to take this entire ordeal in. 'Did she say anything else?' I asked hopefully.

"'Actually, yes. She told me to give you this when you got older.' Mom reached up behind her neck and unlatched a necklace. It was a locket on a silver chain. It's the very same one that I wear to this day. 'I figure you're old enough now.' I reached in the bars of her cell and took it. I fastened it around my neck and tucked it in my bodice. 'She mentioned something inside of it, but she never figured out how to open it.'

"I nodded, my heart sinking lower into my chest. 'So this is it? You're not my real mother.'

"A single lonely tear slid down her face. 'I'm sorry,' was all she said.

"'Me too," I said crossly, clenching my hands into fists by my side.

"'I'm so sorry,' repeated my fake mom. 'I… I love you.' I turned, not looking at her, and walked away.

"That night, I couldn't sleep. I lay in my bed—unable to even cry—the whole entire night. In the morning, I heard the steady beat of a drum. My mother was being hanged. I listened as the drum pounds got faster and faster as they drew closer to the hanging. I should have gone outside and watched her. I should have apologized or something. But I didn't. I just waited and listened as the drums stopped. I closed my eyes tightly and prepared myself for the tears that were sure to come. But they didn't. I waited and waited but my eyes were as dry as ever. I haven't cried since then, not once. It's odd, but I sort of wish that I could, just to get it over with.

"I spent a couple of days there, not able to sleep, eating and drinking practically nothing. After a while, I realized that I couldn't stay there. If I did, I would constantly be haunted by the memories of my mother. And Kayla. I had never been able to get over her.

"Late one night, I snuck onto one of the ships that had made berth at the docks. I hid in the food storage. It was a place with little light and numerous rats, but it gave me easy access to food and water. The next morning, the ship took off; I could feel it rocking back and forth. Whenever anybody came in, I hid behind the barrels. A couple times, I thought the men saw me, but they probably figured it was just their imagination.

"Weeks passed, maybe even months. Without a way to get outside I had no clue as to how long it had been since my mother died. The sailors on the ship began to be suspicious. They had noticed the shortage in their food and supplies. Whenever they came in, they would search the place, no doubt looking for me. I had a couple of close calls but nobody found me.

"One day, I was heading to get some water when I heard the doorknob turning. I twisted around in midair and a nail sticking out of the wood cut me on the thigh. I gasped at the pain but I had to keep going to hide. I concealed myself behind a barrel and tried to slow my breath. I peeked at the man.

"He had thick brown hair and thin mustache. His warm brown eyes swept the room and stopped on a spot on the floor. He was staring so intently at it that I figured it was safe to lean out and see what it was. Tiny drops of blood were in a line pointing straight at me. The man looked up to where they led and I quickly leaned in. But not before we made eye contact. My heart was beating so loud; I was surprised he hadn't heard it before.

"The wood creaked as he drew nearer. I bit my lip so hard that it bled and I could taste the nasty, rusty-tasting blood. I breathed deeply, trying not to scream from the pain in my leg and the adrenaline rushing through my body. I had my back to him, but I could see when his shadow covered me up. I ran for it, I nearly made it too, but he grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, shoved me away, and blocked me from the door.

"Shakily, I drew my sword and held it out. He chuckled. His voice was deep and low; it sounded sort of like the lowest string of my guitar. It resonated throughout the room.

"'You're not going to win, you know,' he told me in his musical voice. I just pressed my lips closed and tried to stop trembling in my arms. Quick as a whip, his blade flashed as mine fell to the floor. As he knocked my sword out of my hand he spun with the move and was suddenly behind me, the flat edge of his blade pressed against my throat. My knees wobbled dangerously as my mind raced, thinking of all the things he could possibly do to me.

"Then he sighed. It seemed so odd. Almost like he didn't want to do what he knew he had to. He spoke into my ear, in a hushed voice. 'Don't worry, I won't hurt you.'

"I should have run, taken my chance with whatever was on-deck, but I didn't. I took a risk and relaxed, letting him know that I wouldn't run. The sword was removed from my neck and he sheathed it. I bent down and picked up my sword, putting it in its scabbard as I brought myself up. I saw that the man was looking at me, curiously. There was an awkward silence.

"'What's your name?' Obviously, the silence had been bugging him.

"'Kia,' I replied. 'Kia Mathers.'

"Ben Jacobs.' He extended a hand that I took. It was rough, clearly from numerous years at sea. It was also warm and slightly sweaty. 'What are you doing out here?'

"I pretended to be interested in my cuticles for as long as I could. 'I… can't tell you…' I looked up and my eyes met his, and for a second, something strange happened. There was a flicker in his eyes and they were cold and hard, but they went back his normal kind and caring look. I figured it was just a trick of the light.

"He nodded solemnly. Then his gaze fell on my leg. I glanced down and saw it had bled through the whole top of my pants—all the way to my knee. The second I remembered it, my leg hurt so bad my vision went double and I had to lean on a nearby barrel to stop from passing out. It was all I could do not to cry out in pain and give myself away to the other men on the ship.

"'Are you okay?' asked Ben, alarmed.

"'No,' I hissed through clenched teeth. 'It's pretty clear that I'm," (I groaned as the ship rocked violently) 'not okay.'

"'I can take care of that for you.' He sounded really worried, to tell you the truth.

"'That would be,' (I drew in a sharp intake of breath) 'terrific.'

"'I'm going to go fetch the medicine kit. But for now put your leg on this,' (he grabbed a very dirty cloth) 'and put it up here.' (He pointed to a barrel). I did as he told me and lied down on the floor. In his absence, I fell into unconsciousness, the gentle movement of the boat rocked me into a sweet dream where my family was still alive and I wasn't about to die from blood loss.

"When I finally woke up, it was pitch black. I fumbled around for a match for a second then lit a lantern once I had found them. My leg was firmly bandaged and it seemed like the blood flow had stopped. It hurt much less than before. Reduced to a dull ache rather than a piercing pain. On the floor lay a pillow, a couple more bandages, some weird goopy paste, and a piece of paper with a messy note scribbled on it. Ben had written that he had a lot of duties to carry out, but would come as soon as he could. He had also given me instructions to change my bandage as soon as I woke up. I carried them out, having to backtrack every once in a while when I made a mistake. In the end I managed to make a very messy dressing that Ben would no doubt have to fix when he arrived.

"When he did, the first thing he did was he showed me how to properly dress my wound. Then we talked. And we talked and talked. For as long as we could, considering the fact Ben had work around the ship. As we grew closer together, we realized we were in love. At least, I did. Instead of talking we would kiss. And one day, I grew the courage to tell him my story. This story. All that had happened up to that point. He listened and he consoled me. He even shared with me the story of his past.

"I should have known something bad was happening. Ben began to visit me less and less and each time he was nervous and jumpy. I figured he just had more duties to do and was worried about getting caught. God, I was so stupid. I couldn't see what was right in front of me.

"One night he came in looking stiff and uneasy. I walked up to him and intertwined my arms around his stomach. 'What's wrong?' I asked. He pushed my arms out of the way and strode over to a barrel to sit on it, burying his head in his large hands as he did so. He let out a long sigh. 'You sure you're okay?'

"He looked up when I spoke with a surprised expression on his face. As if he hadn't realized that I was there. His eyes were filled with pain and guilt. 'I'm sorry,' was all he said. I jumped back as if he had shocked me. Those were two words that could never bring anything good. 'I have to…'

"'What…' I said confused. Then I realized what he was doing. He was going to turn me in. After all that I had told him and he had told me. I loved him, but that meant nothing. 'No,' I said firmly. 'I won't let you do this.'

"'You don't understand,' he tried to tell me. 'If I don't… he'll kill me. He knows about you, and me, and us. If you go easily, he might just drop you off at the next port.'

"'No, he won't!' I yelled at him. 'He'll kill me! Or worse!' I added.

"'What could be…'

"'Plenty could be worse for me. I'm a woman, remember?' He fell silent. 'You're seriously going to turn me in?'

"'Don't you see? I have no choice!' His voice rose and soon I was shouting back at him.

"'Of course you have a choice! You always have a choice! Just lie to him!'

"'But he knows! He'll figure it out and then he'll kill both of us!'

"'We'll both be careful and we won't get caught!'

"'Well…' What he was going to say, I'll never know. At that moment, the door was flung open and three men came in. Two of them grabbed Ben, restraining him. The other one took my arms and twisted them around my back. I gasped at the pain. It felt as if my arms were being ripped out of their sockets. They brusquely led us above deck. A man stood at the bow of the ship. He wore soldier's attire and a white wig. As we drew closer, I saw that he had cold, hard, gray eyes.

"'We got 'em, Cap'n.'

"'Perfect,' said the captain with a wicked grin." I shuddered at the thought. I'll never get that look of malice out of my head, no matter how long I live.

"He locked eyes with me and his widened with surprise. 'What's your name?' he asked suspiciously.

"'Kia Mathers.' I said with a grimace. 'And you?'

"'John Turnley.' _Turnley… Turnley… _I turned the name over in my mind. I had heard it somewhere before, but I couldn't' remember exactly where.

"'You seem a bit young to be captain of a ship.' I said desperately, trying to buy some time. I figured if I kept him talking long enough, he would let me go. It was a slim chance, but worth a try.

"'I bet I'm older than you.'

"'Possibly. But you don't see me commandeering a ship.'

"'Shocking.'

"'What's shocking?'

"'You know the proper terminology.'

"'I may be a girl, but I'm no idiot.'

"'Apparently.'

"'Might I ask the name of your—err—glorious ship?'

"'_The Revenge_.' He smirked malevolently. A shiver ran up my spine at the sight of it.

"He gazed curiously at me. Then walked up and lifted my chin up with his hand. 'You're a pretty creature; you know that? A fine prize for a man.' I bit his hand. He drew back and glared at me. 'You'll pay for that,' he spat.

"'Oh really? And what are you going to do to me?'

"'I'm going to kill you,' he said maliciously.

"I don't know how he did it, but somehow Ben managed to break free. He flung himself in between Turnley and I. 'I won't let you kill her,' he growled.

"'Turnley merely rolled his eyes. 'I had a feeling we might have some—ah—resistance.' With that, he drew his sword and ran it through Ben.

"'NO!' I screamed. I struggled to get to his lifeless body that lay on the floor but the man restraining me twisted my arm painfully, making me stop. 'You bastard,' I hissed at him.

"'He was a nuisance,' his drew his face up so close to mine, I could smell his rotting breath. 'He got just what he deserved.' He turned and started to walk away when I jammed my heel into the toes of my captor. He loosened his grip for a fraction of a second, which was all I needed. I jerked my elbow backwards and hit him right in the nuts." As I said this, I noticed Sparrow wincing—imagining what that must have felt like. I smiled to myself and went on. "While he was bent over, I drew my sword and challenged Turnley.

"Taken aback, he unsheathed his sword and held it up in the air. I could tell just by the way he held himself that I was going to lose. What the hell had I gotten myself into? Several other swords were drawn around me, but I didn't pay attention to them. 'Put them down, men. I can take her myself.' With a fair amount of grumbling the swords were put away. I barely saw it; I was focused entirely on Turnley.

"He flew at me, his sword just a sliver of silver light, moving this way and that. All my thought and energy went into protecting myself. He was good, really good. I wasn't even thinking about trying to attack him back. I was trying to keep myself alive.

"We fought for what seemed like forever, but he just kept going. I was exhausted; the only thing I wanted to do was go to sleep. Turnley remained unfazed. In fact, he seemed to gain confidence from my conspicuous weakening. I decided it was now or never to get him. I lunged to the right while I stepped to the left, which was stupid of me—leaving most of my body exposed. He slashed at my right side, cutting me from the top of my neck down to the crease in my right elbow." I lifted the collar of my shirt, revealing the still blood red scar and rolled up my right sleeve.

"My hands shaking, I sheathed my sword. 'I… I give up.' The pain in my arm was practically unbearable; I could barely speak. I could feel the warm blood drip down my arm. I wanted to scream; I could feel it growing in my throat, but I resisted the urge. I wouldn't give in.

"'I knew you would,' he said with a smirk. And… I can't remember anything past then. I fell unconscious, which was a relief from the pain. I presume they picked me up and threw me over the edge, because the next thing I knew, I was dreaming about being saved in the water by… well, by you."

"But I had never met you," said Sparrow.

"When we lived in Port Royal, I saw you saving then threatening the governor's daughter, Elizabeth, and escaping into the town." There was a pause, followed by Sparrow's face lighting up with recognition.

I went on to tell him about all that had happened in Port Jacobs, up to the day when I met him.

"And why exactly were you so… protective of me?" he asked.

"I… don't really know… I guess you reminded me of my old home… Plus there was that dream I had had. It seemed oddly… symbolic." I said.

"How so?"

"Well…" I started hesitantly. "The whole saving me thing… I just… I guess I thought maybe you'd be able to… 'save me'… or something." I sighed. I couldn't really explain why I had done it… it was instinct.

With that we fell silent. I gazed up at the twinkling stars in the sky and the tiny sliver of the Moon that was illuminated. I was deep in thought when I felt Sparrow's arm snaking itself around my back. I started, but then relaxed for some strange reason. He hesitated for a fraction of a second but decided to wrap his arm around my back, resting his hand on my hip.

It felt oddly… right. I could feel the warmth spreading through my whole body and I lay my head on his shoulder. He was surprised—I could tell—but he let me rest it there and stroked my cheek softly with his thumb. After a minute, I lifted my head. We locked eyes… and we kissed.

It felt like fireworks were exploding all around me. It was—to be quite honest—the best kiss of my life. Before, his kisses were just tiny, soft pecks. But this was different. It was… passionate. Our lips were locked for the longest time before I realized I had done it again. I had gotten too close. I pulled away quickly; Sparrow's fired up face taking on a look of confusion before my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered softly, and then took off below deck.

Jack Sparrow's POV

It was awful. Kia… I had never realized she had had such a horrible life. I mean we all have our good times and our bad times. I've had some dreadful experiences, but I think hers topped the cake. No wonder she was always so guarded and solitary.

Her head was tilted up to the sky; she was trying to conceal the pain in her eyes but to no avail. I figured then was as good a time as any to make a move on her. Obviously, she needed comforting, and I hoped to be the lucky man to do that for her.

I slid my hand across her back and was just moving over her spine when I felt her freeze and stiffen up. I stopped momentarily, just in case she decided it would best to slap me, or worse. But then she released her tension and allowed me to rest my hand on her hip. She put her head on my shoulder and I gently caressed her cheek with my thumb—without noticing it.

Kia lifted her head up suddenly and we stared at each other. Then… we kissed.

To tell you the truth, I've kissed a lot of women. I had even kissed Kia a couple times before that. None of those were anything like this one. I couldn't think; I could barely breathe. As we kept kissing, we grew more zealous and got really "into it". One of my hands was still around her hip, the other was on the back of her neck; I could feel her soft, curly hair beneath my fingers. I was silently cursing at the fact she wore glasses. Every once in a while I would whack my nose on them or poke my eye on one of the corners. But I didn't stop. I didn't ever want to stop.

Apparently, Kia did. She pulled away so quickly I didn't realize what had happened until she had said, "I'm sorry," very softly and had run away to her room. I still sat there, her words still hung in the air like an invisible weight. _I'm sorry… what did she mean by that? _It was too bad I couldn't as her; she was long gone.


	11. Raid

Kia's POV

I dreaded the next morning when I knew I would have to face Jack. Yet, despite my hunch that he would confront me, he didn't. Instead, he pretended that nothing had ever happened and we were back to normal. In fact, he seemed to ignore me.

When we passed in the hall with me on my way to get something, and he headed above deck, he didn't make a snide or rude comment nor did he stare at my ass.

I don't think we would have had any contact whatsoever were it not for that afternoon's events. At around three o'clock the fog rolled in. It was so bad we could barely see ten feet in front of the ship.

I was working the ropes when the cabin boy—who was washing the deck—flung his mop behind him, hitting me face on with water that was clean, thank god. I was still annoyed, though. "Hey!" I shouted at him, making him nearly jump out of his skin. "What the hell was that?"

"Sorry ma'm!" he said nervously.

"Fine…" I said, but was still slightly ticked off. "Carry on…"

I took off my glasses, grabbed a towel, and dabbed at my wet face, making sure to wipe away the streaks of kohl beneath my eyes. I cleaned off my glasses as well and held them out to check inspect for smudges and streaks. In them, I could see the fog behind me. Then there was a faint figure that grew larger and larger the longer I watched it. I whirled around and saw a ship approaching quickly on our right side.

Immediately, I yelled, "Ship! She's coming up on our starboard!"

"Is she friendly?" shouted Jack from the opposite end of the ship.

"Can't tell. Too foggy," I replied.

"Men! Armed and ready!" belted Jack. I gave him an evil glare. "And women," he added.

We all drew our swords and those of us—including me—who had daggers and guns and other weapons drew those too. As the ship drew up next to us we could tell it was a raid. Everyone on the opposed ship was fully armed and holding a rope they were no doubt going to use to mount our ship. When they were in range, they flew onto the ship, attacking us viciously.

I took on a scrawny but agile little man who I killed in a short while. I felt guilty about taking his life, but I didn't have enough time to feel too bad. I was trying to make my way to where Jack and the captain were sparring. I was quite curious as to why we had been assaulted and why.

On the way, I fought several other people, killing most of them. I nearly died at the hands of a big, burly man who had gotten the upper hand in our duel. Just as he was about to make the final move, Mr. Gibbs came running by, knocking out my opponent with the handle of his sword. I yelled a quick "Thanks!" at him and rushed onwards.

When I reached Jack and the mystery captain they were in fierce combat, swords flying. It looked as if Jack's rival had used his one-shot pistol—for it lay on the deck, useless. Jack, however, had a gun in his left hand, prepared to use it.

I ran up the steps and was going to join in when Jack somehow twisted the sword out of the other man's hand. He held up his pistol and cocked it menacingly.

"Tell your men to drop their weapons," ordered Jack.

Reluctantly, the man bellowed, "Gentlemen! Arms down!"

Surprised to see their captain defeated, the men from their other ship let their swords and guns clatter to the floor.

"Now, what did you say your name was?" asked Jack, still holding the fun in the air.

"_Captain_Jack Locke," he said, emphasizing the "Captain" like Jack did.

"Well, Captain Locke, I'd like to know why you've chosen to attack this fine ship."

"Like hell you would," spat Locke. There was something strange about the way he spoke. He had a refined elegance to his speech. But that wasn't important at the moment, so I shoved the thought to the back of my mind and focused on the situation at hand.

"I don't think you're in a position to act like that," warned Jack.

"I'll do what I please, no matter the position." _I'll do what I please? That doesn't sound much like a pirate, _I thought.

Jack gave a sigh. "If you don't cooperate, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to kill you."

"Fine then," said Locke, spreading his arms out. "Kill me. I'm calling your bluff." His gaze shifted for a second from Jack to me, making my heart skip a beat.

"Stop!" I screamed as Jack cocked his gun one final time. I jumped between Jack and Locke, each stunned by my actions. "Don't kill him," I half begged.

"And why shouldn't I? What has he ever done for us except attempt to rob and kill us?" shot back Jack furiously.

"Just listen to me for a second… Jack." He was so astonished that I hadn't called him "Sparrow" he couldn't say anything. I used that to my advantage.

"Jack," I repeated. "You can't kill him. He's not who he says he is. He's…"

**Haha! A cliffhanger! Sorry but I had to it, guys. Also, I'm sad to say it may be a long time before I get the next chapter out. I need to write the main part of another story I plan on writing while I can. Plus, I haven't figured out the next part. Hopefully, I'll have a big burst of inspiration and write more, but it's unlikely. As well, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter; I had no other stopping point.**


	12. Anne Bonny

"He's… my mother."

Jack's face was blank while "Locke's" was smirking—a hint of worry well concealed on his face. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm no girl. It's not even possible for me to have a baby."

I ignored her and turned to Jack. "Think back to last night. I told you Anne Bonny was my mother"—a flicker of fear passed on Anne's face—"and she's known for being a—"

"—cross-dressing pirate," Jack finished for me.

"Isn't that cute? Ye're finishing each other's sentences. Ye two little lovebirds."

"Don't change the subject," I growled, but I felt my face grow hot.

Jack jabbed his pistol at Anne and asked her, "Are you, or are you not Anne Bonny?"

She glared at us through slit eyes, deciding whether or not to tell us the truth. "Yes," she finally admitted. "I'm Anne Bonny, the famous pirate." There were gasps and mutters from the two crews—one shocked that their captain had revealed her identity; the other stunned that they had been overrun by a woman—I tried my best to ignore them. "Ye mentioned something about me being yer mother; is this true?"

"Aye, you gave birth to me years ago and had to give me up to the midwife."

She nodded. "Ah, yes. And what gave me away?" she asked.

"Your eyes—they're the same shade of green as mine. Plus, your attitude and way of speaking were unnatural."

"Smart girl," she said. "'Spect you got that from Jack, yer father." A tiny smile played at the corners of her lips.

"Jack…" said our Jack, confused. "Are you talking about Calico Jack?"

"The one and only," said Anne.

He gaped at us in disbelief, seemingly unable to comprehend the fact that I had two famous pirates for parents.

"If I remember correctly," I said. "Jack asked you a question, which you refused to answer."

"Aye," said Anne, and then paused. "And which question be that?"

"Why'd you attack us in the first place?"

A puzzled expression fell upon her face. "I thought ye might be able to answer that for me."

Now I was confused. "How so? I still don't know why you're here."

"As ye may know, I was originally married to James Bonny. He was a kind man, but the truth was, we weren't in love. I fell in love, instead, with Jack Rackham—more commonly known as Calico Jack. He approached James to ask to be separated and James agreed. For our witness, we chose Richard Turnley."

I couldn't help but let out a gasp. Jack's eyes widened in surprise but he didn't say anything. So that's where I had heard the name before! It seems as though I met his son though, luckily, instead of having the misfortune to meet he himself.

"Seems like ye know him," commented Anne.

"I met his son. He tried to kill me—unsuccessfully, obviously."

She nodded. "At the last minute, he turned us over to Governor Rogers, a highly Christian man, and we were forced to escape into piracy. One night, Rogers' ship caught up to us and the men were far too drunk to fight," her words were laced with venom. "They caught us and they hanged Jack." She stared at the floor, her mind filling with memories of the past.

"I'm sorry," was all I could manage to say.

Pretending that nothing had happened, she went on. "Mary Read—a good friend of mine and a pirate as well—and I managed to be spared by our children. We were both pregnant so it was against the laws of the Church to kill us. At least, not until we gave birth. But Mary didn't last that long. She died of a violent fever months later. I, on the other hand, gave birth to ye and had to give ye up to the midwife. A baby would have slowed me down terribly while I ran from the law. And for that, I apologize."

I wanted to tell her that it was okay, that I didn't mind, but I couldn't. The words got caught in my throat so I merely nodded.

"A couple years ago, I believe, I caught wind of Turnley's son James' little escapade. Apparently, a girl had snuck onto his ship and she and one of his crew fell in love. He was 'forced' to kill the man and throw the woman overboard as 'courtesy'. I figured I had a good chance of catching ye and ye knowing where Turnley is. So I went chasing after ye."

"Why do you want to find him so much?"

Ye see, before he died, I vowed to Jack that I would find Turnley and whip him to death. Most likely, his son will know where he is. If I can find his son, I can find Turnley, and fulfill Jack's wishes."

"How did you manage to find me?"

"When I stopped in a small port a few weeks ago, the whole town was buzzing with the news of the infamous Jack Sparrow—"

"Captain," interrupted Jack and I.

"—Captain Jack Sparrow's latest escape with the help of a local woman. I asked around about the girl and they told me she showed up out of nowhere a few years back with sever injuries. A couple people said she had washed up on the beach. I decided it had to be the one from Turnley's ship so I went chasing after ye. I caught up to the Black Pearl, we fought, and here we are. Can you tell me anything about Turnley's whereabouts?"

"No, I don't know where he is."

"Are you sure?" she pressed me.

At this, Jack stepped in. "She doesn't know. Stop asking her or else she shall be forced to lie. And believing that lie as the truth won't help you in your expedition, for it will, in fact, lead you in the wrong direction. Therefore, you must not ask her more questions for fear of going in the wrong direction.

There was a pause in which everyone attempted to digest what he had said. "She could be lying now," said Anne. "Ye've made the assumption that she will lie if she's pressured to talk, but what's to say she isn't lying now?"

"What reason would she have to not tell the truth?" shot back Jack.

"She—" began Anne but I cut her off.

"Can't I speak for myself?" I said, annoyed at them both. "I can honestly say that I have no clue as to where either of the Turnley's could be. Now, I have some questions to as you, Anne, but first, can we move somewhere more… private?" The others might not have noticed everyone staring at us in amazement, but I sure did. It was unnerving.

We made our way to the mapping room where Jack kept all of his charting equipment; maps, atlases, compasses, etc.

"What is it?" asked Anne.

I pulled out the locket she gave to my mother when I was born. "What is this? And why did you give it to me—or rather, the midwife?"

She sighed. "It's a bit of a long story." I waited patiently. "When we were captured by Rogers, the men were all drunk. But the reason they were all so wasted was this locket. It's supposed to lead to a treasure." I saw Jack's eyes widen very slightly. "They were celebrating our find. Anyways, ye know the rest; I gave the locket to yer mom and told her to give it to ye when ye got older."

I nodded. "Have you found any other clues as to where this treasure is? And how the locket works into the puzzle?"

"I've found only one hint. A man was talking about it in a pub one day and with a little, ah, persuasion, he told me all he knew. All that I got was a name. Ian Phillips."

"What does that have to do anything?"

"Well, I visited his grave and found there's a clue on it. It reads 'Ian Phillips, Isla de Indicios, 150724, 782496.'"

"What do those numbers mean?" asked Jack.

"Yer guess is as good as mine."

"Hand me that map over there," said Jack pointing to a map behind me. I grabbed it and handed it to him. He rolled it out and laid it on the table, pinning the corners down to hold it in place. "What were the numbers again?"

"150724 and 782496."

Jack scribbled them down on a peice of parchment. He stared at it and the map, not saying a word.

"Try this," I said, leaning over Jack and putting some marks onto the numbers so that it looked like this:

15:07:24 and 78:24:96

"There aren't any directions on it."

"Then try them all."

15:07:24S and 78:24:96E would have landed us in the middle of the Indian Ocean. There was a chance of it being there, but it was highly unlikely. Anne said the lengends all told of it being in the Caribbean. 15:07:24S and 78:24:96W was in Peru. 15:07:24N and 78:24:96E was somewhere in Asia. 15:07:24N and 78:24:96W, on the other had, was right in the Caribbean.

"How long will it take for us to get there?" I asked Jack who was plotting the points as I spoke.

"About... two or three days, give or take."

"Well then," said Anne. "What are we waiting for?" We went abovedeck and ordered her crew back onto her ship. With our ship in lead, we began to make our way to Isla de Indicios.

I was wandering around belowdeck when I saw Jack headed towards his room. I stopped him. "Jack, we need to talk."

"About what, luv?" replied Jack.

"Last night. I sort of ran off without explaining myself and... I'm sorry about that."

"Oh really? And might I ask why you ran off?"

"I..." I hesitated. "To tell you the truth, I don't normally get very close to people. As you may have noticed, things usually end badly for me and... I..." I groaned in frustration. How could I tell him that I cared about him without actually telling him that I cared about him.

Apparently I didn't have to worry about that, because he leaned into me and gave me a light kiss. "You're adorable when you're frustrated, luv." Not quite done with him yet, I dipped into him and kissed him again, passionately. We kept on kissing for what seemed like forever. Before I wanted to stop, though, Anne came in on us.

"Hope I'm not interrupting on anything," she said.

I blushed profusedly, but Jack just grinned. "No, not at all."

"Go ahead and continue. I'll just leave."

"What did you come here to tell us?" I asked her, now recovered from my embarrasment.

"There's a slight problem..." she said hesitantly.

"What might that problem be?" asked Jack suspiciously.

"Instead of us chasing the Turnleys... they're now chasing us."

**All of the history involving Anne Bonny, Jack Rackham, and Richard Turnley is, indeed, true. I got all of my information from ****The Republic of Pirates: being the true and surprising story of the Carribean pirates and the man who brought them down**** bye Colin Woodard. Everything involving Richard Turnley's son, however, isn't true, as I couldn't find anything whatsoever about him—even his name. The treasure is all fiction, as is Ian Phillips. (The coordinates do match up though! I did my research )**


	13. Ask Me a Question

**I have recently come to the conclusion that my main character might be a Mary Sue—eek! Can anybody and everybody who reads my story let me know what their opinion on it? What I might be able to alter slightly to make my character more believable? Is she even a Mary Sue in the first place? Thanks to everyone who helps.**

**Also, some people might have noticed that I made a slight change in Ch. 1, Washed Up. After writing that huge long chapter about Kia's past, I realized I forgot to add how she got the stab wound in her stomach (doh!). So instead of add in a section, I just deleted it from the first chapter and I'll just pretend it never happened… **

**As well, I've managed to come out with two chapters over the past few weeks, but I don't know where to go from here. I've got a couple ideas, but I'm running low on inspiration. Also, for a class assignment we had to do choice writing. I started another story—not a POTC one, sadly—that I'll post soon.**

**Now, on to the story!**

Jack and I exchanged a quick glance before running up the stairs in a slight panic. We gazed out to the sea in horror as a frighteningly familiar ship approached us at a fast pace.

"I'd recognize it anywhere," said Anne, who had followed us up. She held up her telescope. "And it looks like both of them are here. Richard and his son, James."

Jack pulled out his as well, looked through it, said, "She's right," and then snapped it shut.

"Well of course I'm bloody right," said Anne indignantly. "Why the hell would I lie to you?"

Jack was slightly taken aback but he pretended she had said nothing at all. "Can your ship match pace with the _Pearl_?"

"Of course it can, _I'm_ the captain, after all," said Anne cockily.

"I see where you get your attitude," muttered Jack to me. I gave a short laugh.

Anne hurried to her ship and gave them orders to keep up with the _Pearl_ and to not fire upon us. They grudgingly obliged. Being pirates, they all loved attacking other ships. I, on the other hand, preferred just sailing upon the sea with no fights.

Once we were on the course to Isla de Indicios, there was practically nothing to do. "I'm bored," I complained to Jack, who stood at the head of the ship, leading the course.

"Well then, feel free to scrub the decks," said Jack, turning the wheel slightly.

I ignored him and looked around the ship, hoping to find something to do. My eyes fell on the sail of the ship. "I'm going to climb into the crow's nest," I said confidently.

Jack merely chuckled at me. "Right, luv. Good luck with that."

"Thank you," I said haughtilly, determined to make it into the crow's nest, high above everyone.

It took a very, very long time. The trip looked much more longer, once I started going. A couple of times, I lost my grip and nearly tumbled to the deck, only to grap onto the roping at the very last minute. Finally, I climbed to the top and fell into the tiny "nest", sweating furiously and panting slightly. After a couple minutes of recovery from the hard climb up, I took a look at my surroudings. The sight took my breath away. It was one thing to be on deck, and see the rippling of the sea on the wind and the bustlings of the deck all around you. Being in the crow's nest was like being on top of the world.

The sea looked like nothing but little wavy lines, as if a little kid had tried to draw a straight line but hadn't learned how to yet. The sky looked bigger than before... and closer. I felt as if I could have reached out and held the soft clouds in my hands. I was too far away from the crew to hear them in their work so all I could hear was the rushing wind through my ears. I felt wind on my face, making me squint and my hair blow out behind me. I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air.

"Lovely, isn't it?" said a voice from below me. I started badly and almost fell off. Jack was grinning up at me.

"Bloody hell, Jack," I said, trying to catch the breath that he had snatched away from me. "You scared me half to death."

"Mind if I join you?" I scooted over and held out a hand to help him in. Even once I had pulled him up and he had sat next to me, I still held his hand. For some reason, I wouldn't let go—no—I couldn't let go. Jack refused to let go either, so we just sat there, hand in hand. No doubt the entire crew would have had a feild day with this if they found out.

I stared into space, lost entirely in my thoughts, with only Jack's warm hand in mine to keep me on Earth. "Kia?" said Jack, pulling me back into reality.

"Huh?" I said, turning to him. His warm eyes stared deep into mine.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, sounding genuinly worried about me. Why was he being so nice to me? It was so... un-Jack-like.

"I guess so," I said hesitantly. He looked at me curiously, but didn't say a thing. Wanting to change the subject, I said, "Ask me a question."

"Err... what?" said Jack, giving me one of his looks.

"It's a game that my mom and I used to play, savvy? Just ask me a question."

"All right then... what is your favorite food?" asked Jack, rather tentatively.

"Hmmm... I guess it would be steak. What about you?"

"Rum," said Jack with a smile on his face.

I laughed. "That's not real food."

"It is to me." Jack's face was dead serious.

"If you could spend the rest of your life on a ship, would you do it?"

"It all depends on the ship. Were it the _Pearl_, I would gladly do it. Any other ship, I would be less inclined to stay. That is, unless I was captain."

"Of course," I said, smiling widely. "What's your favorite color?"

"Green. Emerald green." I only realized later that he had named the color of my eyes. "What's yours?"

"Blue. The color of the sea."

"Would you rather be a pirate or a blacksmith?"

"Pirate, of course. Pirate or king?"

"Pirates. They get to have all of the fun."

"Your preferred way of dying?"

He thought for a moment. "Being run through by a sword. Quick and easy. And yours?"

"Drinking to death. That way, it's practically painless, and you get to have fun in the meantime."

"Now that's my kind of death. Power or money?"

"Money; you can always buy yourself power with enough money. Money or love?" Jack didn't answer, he just inched his face closer to mine. "Again," I said, slightly annoyed. "Money or love?"

"Right now, I'm not so sure. How about you?"

I thought about it, wondering which I would truly prefer. "Love," I said finally. "'When love speaks, the voice of all the Gods makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.'" At Jack's puzzled expression, I said, "It's Shakespeare. He's one of the greatest writers of all time."

"Honestly, luv, I don't give a damn who Shakespeare is. Now, love or beauty?"

"Love. The person who loves you should accept you for who you are and what you are. Beauty has nothing to do with it."

"I beg to differ."

"Shut up," I said, but smiled as I said it. I tried to think of another question to ask. "Which would you pick: love or sex?"

Jack held his face barely an inch from mine and whispered, "Both." His lips met mine and we began to kiss.

Before we got too into it, I pulled away and said, "That was really corny, you know."

"Who the hell cares?" said Jack, taking his hand out of mine and grabbing my waist, pulling it to him. We kissed passionately and I wove my hands around his neck. We kissed for what felt like hours on end, yet it also seemed like it only lasted a minute. I was completetly wrapped up in the kiss when a voice from below shouted up at us.

"Oi!" Jack and I looked over the edge and saw Anne yelling at us to come down.

"Okay! We'll be right down!" I shouted back at her. Grudgingly, Jack and I parted and started down from the crow's nest. Jack went first, being the fastest and I followed after him. I was about eight feet away from the deck—Jack had already finished the descent—when I fell.


	14. Falling from Heaven, Sort of

I landed with a crash on the hard wood floor and a cascade of pain fell on me, mainly on my lower back, the part which had received the main force of the impact. "Ow," I moaned softly.

Jack rushed over to my side. "Bloody hell, Kia. Are you all right?"

"Just peachy," I groaned and tried to sit up. I could feel something pop in my back and fell back onto the deck from the pain.

"Don't move," said Anne who was now beside me as well. "It'll only hurt worse."

"Thanks..." I grunted, "but I've... noticed that... already." It was getting hard to breathe. My breath came out in short gasps so the words I spoke were short and choppy.

"We'd better get you into your room," said Anne. "Sparrow, will you carry her?"

"It's Captain Sparrow to you," said Jack, emphasizing the Captain. He gently eased his hands underneath my body and lifted me up. I let out a small cry of pain, and Jack paused, waiting to see if I was okay.

"I'm fine... just.. get it... over with," I said, aching with every breath. The trip to my room hurt a lot, despite Jack's attempts to make the ride smoother. After what felt like a lifetime, Jack laid me onto my bed and I could breathe easier. "Thank you," I said, gratefully.

"Do you need anything?" Jack asked me.

"Some water would be nice." Jack left and returned with a cup full of water. I took a sip, then placed it on the counter next to my bed. "Why are you acting so... nice?" I asked Jack. It wasn't like him to be like this.

"What?" said Jack. "I can't be kind to you without you getting suspicious?"

"No," I said. "It's nice. I mean—I like it. It's just very odd behavior for you."

Jack opened his mouth to say something in response but Anne came bustling in, shoving him out of the way. "Now, let's see what's wrong with you," she said, standing next to me. "Where does it hurt?" she asked.

"It's sort of... around my back," I said.

She rolled me onto my side and began poking and prodding at my back. "Does this hurt?" she would ask. "Does it hurt there?"

"Ow! I yelled a couple of times. "Yes! That hurts like hell; stop doing that!"

"All right," she said when she was done and I was practically in tears from the pain, "it looks like yeh haven't broken anything, but I think yeh have a couple of bruised ribs. A day or two of rest should leave yeh as good as new."

"Thanks," I said, easing myself onto my back again. "How do you know all this?"

"Livin' with all men on a pirate ship and no one having any medicine experience teaches yeh how to patch people up real fast." She rook out some bandages from a bag she had slung over her shoulder and wrapped up my chest. Several minutes of shouting and cursing later, my chest was wrapped up and Anne left Jack and I alone.

"Hand me the book over there," I ordered Jack, motioning towards a book lying on my desk. Jack too it and—examining the title—brought it over to me.

"Why are you reading about pirates, luv?" asked Jack. "Isn't sailing under the black flag enough for you?"

"I figure it's best to know as much as I can, _especially _since I'm sailing beneath the black flag." I opened up the book to my bookmark and began to read. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack quietly slip out of the room.

Something was bugging me—why was Jack being so nice to me? I mean, it wasn't like he was being mean to me before. Not exactly. It had just always seemed as if he never really cared about me. And—knowing his reputation—I had no trouble beleiving I was just an object to him. But this sudden kindness... what did it mean? Did he actually and truly like me? And if I fell for him, would he merely cast me away like a child with a broken toy when he was finished with me?

Then there were my own thoughts about him that I was forced to sort through. I was unsure what to make of him. There were numerous things that annoyed me to hell. Like the way he always insisted on calling me "luv". And how he hated to admit he was wrong or that anyone was better than the "great Captain Jack Sparrow".

But as well as the things that I hated, there were some things that I loved. Like the twinkle in his eye whenever he smiled. And there was how he staggered around like a drunk—although he was half the time—yet was quick as a whip and always there if you ever needed him in a pinch. And the way he kissed me... it seemed damn near impossible that anyone could kiss with such passion but not care at all. Just the thought of him gave me butterflies in my already squirming stomach. Could I have been... in love?

Frustrated at myself, I made the decision to get my guitar. Somehow, music always helped a great deal if I was worried or needed to sort things out.

A couple minutes and an endless amount of pain later, I sat up on my bed with my guitar in my lap. I spent a couple minutes playing around; tuning it and figuring out the chords to a song that had been swimming around in my head for a while. Then, I played.

Jack's POV

I stood at the wheel of the _Pearl_ for a half hour or so, watching the sea turn itself over and over against the side of the ship before I commanded Gibbs to take over at the head and went to check on Kia.

I was walking down the stairs when I stopped dead in my tracks. What the hell was I doing? Plenty of the crew had gotten over the injured over the years—some much worse than that—but never before had I paid so much attention to one of them. _It's the fall, _I tried to tell myself. _I saw the fall and I know that I could have done something—anything—to have prevented it, or stopped it. That's why I'm so worried about her. _But that wasn't the reason why, and I couldn't deny it. Maybe it was how when she hit the hard deck, I felt it too. Or it could have been the horrible feeling of utter helplessness I felt when she had grimaced with pain. And how I desperately wanted to be able to fix it.

I kept on walking, deep in my thoughts.

What was it that made me feel that way in the first place? She could be _so _aggravating! The way she always kept everything bottled up until she broke. And her cocky attitude was closely matched to mine—not an easy feat. She stubbornly refused to give into my antics for the longest time. Only recently had she willingly kissed me back.

I had to admit, however, she was an excellent kisser. And quite pretty, as well. Nothing like the whores of Tortuga, whose beauty came from nothing but too much makeup. Besides being beautiful, she also had a sharp mind. Although it might have proved to be annoying in the near future, for I wouldn't be able to trick her easily, it could have come in handy. And the way she...

My thoughts were interrupted as I approached Kia's room by a soft, musical voice. I stopped just outside her door. Listening closer, I discovered that it was Kia herself; playing guitar and singing. This is what I heard:

"—trail that I'll be hiking, just to see where it might go,

Many places yet to visit, many people yet to know.

For in following my derams, I will live and I will grow,

On a trail that waiting out there on the loose.

"So in search of love and laughter I'll be traveling 'cross these lands.

Never sure of where I'm going, for I haven't any plans.

So in time when you are ready, come and join me, take my hand.

And together we'll share life out on the loose.

"As I sit and watch the sunset and the daylight slowly fades,

I am thinking of tomorrow, and the friendships I have made.

I will treasure them for always, and I hope that you will too.

And forever we'll share life out on the loose.

"On the loose to climb a mountain, on the loose where I am free.

On the loose to live my life the way I think my life should be.

For I've only got a moment, and a whole world yet to see.

I'll be looking for tomorrow on the loose."

Her voice was beautiful; soft but at the same time loud enough to be heard over the guitar. It reminded me of the tinkling of bells; light and pure.

Addmitedly, she was not all that great when it came to playing the guitar. The only thing she was able to do was play chords. And even those she messed up ever couple of seconds, stopping sometimes to start over a section. But her singing made up for the rest.

I was on the verge on stepping into her room in order to embarass her tremendously, but she began playing again. More accurately and more passionately than before. She sang:

"Could this be love?

Could this be true;

That it was love,

That led me here to you?"

There was a pause filled with more strumming of the guitar and only a single mistake.

"And when we kissed,

I knew it was true.

I wish that I had,

The strength to say 'I love you.'"

She stopped and I heard the creak of her mattress followed by a long slur of curses. I vaguely wanted to go into her room, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Finally, after much thought and time trying decide, I walked in with my mouth open to make some comment about her not working on deck when I saw she was dead asleep, snoring slightly. I tiptoed out of the room and allowed her to sleep in peace.


	15. Daughter In Law

I spent the next few days in bed with only my books to entertain me

I spent the next few days in bed with only my books to entertain me. Although that would usually do the trick and under normal circumstances I would gladly spend the day reading, now that I had no choice, I found myself thoroughly bored. Halfway through the third day, I lifted myself out of bed and hobbled to the mirror in my room, swearing nonstop at the terrible pain, and feeling my bruised back creak as I moved.

At the mirror, I lifted the back of my shirt and revealed the colorful array of bruises that decorated my back. Some had turned purple-blue already, but most were a mixture of yellow and green. I knew from the many bruises I had received over the years that those light ones would grown splotched and purple and would fade into the look of a normal bruise. These ones hurt the most, though.

I was still examining them when a voice from the doorway said, "Lovely."

I jumped, sending shots of pain up and down my body.

"Damn it, Jack," I said. "Don't sneak up on me like that. Or else."

"Or else what? You'll whack me with your cane?" he said, imitating my old-lady-walk.

"Yes, I will. And I'll make sure it hurts like hell." I glared at him. "What did you come here for anyways?"

"Just wanted to let you know that there's a merchant ship heading our way and we plan to raid it." He started to leave the room. Or attempt to. He was so drunk I was afraid he would walk into the doorframe.

"Now hold on a minute!" I shouted at him. He stopped. "We've got both Turnley's on our heels, right?"

"Aye."

"And if they catch up they'll most likely kill us, right?"

"Again, aye."

"Then why the hell are we wasting time looting another ship?! We're almost at _Isla__ de __Indicios_! We need to get there as soon as possible!"

"We're still going to do it, luv. Pirate," he reminded me.

"Fine. In that case, hand me my sword, gun, and dagger."

"Why, seeing how you can barely cross the room?"

"I'm well aware of that, thank you very much. But if someone from the opposing ship manages to board ours and gets into my room, I'd like to be prepared."

"Suit yourself," he said, handing me my effects.

"Thank you. And how long before we're on them?"

"Half an hour."

"Good luck."

"I don't need luck; I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. And there's no need to worry about anyone getting near you. None of the crew will let anyone below deck. At least… I think they won't.

"That's comforting," I muttered as he staggered off.

Almost exactly a half an hour later, the ship shook and rocked as we bombarded the other ship with our cannons and took their damage as well. All I could do was lie in bed, clutching my sword in one hand and my pistol in the other, and hope I wasn't going to me killed.

As I was lamenting on the fact that I should have gotten more weapons, the door to my room burst open. I held my sword out, cocked my gun, and was about to shout when the man who ran into my room said, "Miss! It's only me." It was Gibbs.

"Mister Gibbs," I said as I lowered my weapons, "what are you doing here?"

"We're havin' a bit of trouble on the other ship, yeh see. There's a woman aboard, a native, and she's armed. We coulda sworn that we heard a baby, and think she's protectin' it. She's willin' to kill anyone who gets in her way. She isn't all that great with a sword, but she's angry. We thought yeh might be best able to calm her—yeh being a woman, too."

"And why couldn't Anne do this? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly in the perfect position to fight."

"She insisted on pretendin' to be a man. Couldn't stop 'er."

"All right. Lead the way."

"Thank you, miss. We've been tryin' and tryin' and—"

"Just lead the bloody way," I growled.

He brought me all the way across the two ships—swinging over on a rope hurts like hell, by the way, if you've got a bruised back—and below deck to a room similar to mine. The hallway was full of a crowd of both our crew and Anne's. I pushed my way to the front, cursing loudly whenever someone touched my back.

As I neared the room, I heard a woman's voice shout, "Get back! I'll cut you to pieces if you don't!"

The crowd parted to reveal a dark-skinned woman with thick black hair tied back and decent clothes—neither fancy nor poor—brandishing a sword in the doorway. Every time someone would near where she was, she'd swing it faster, and they'd be forced to move out of the way to avoice losing a body part. It was easy to tell she was running on pure adrenaline. I tried to approach her, but narrowly missed losing a chunk of my nose.

"I said get back!" she yelled.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I said, as I extended my sword.

"Then why are you getting ready to use that thing?"

"Because if I don't, you're going to slice me into pieces. You just said you would."

She paused for a moment to think about it. "Yes, I suppose you're right." I could see the energy starting to fade.

"Of course I am. Now just lower your weapon…"

"No!" she screamed. "If I do, they'll come in and rape me! I know what pirates do!"

"I won't let them."

"And how do I know they'll listen to you?"

"Oi!" I shouted at the mix of crews. "Get out of here—all of you!"

"You're not the captain," said one doubtful man. "Why should we follow your orders?"

I pulled my gun and aimed it at him.

"Because if you don't, I'll shoot."

"You wouldn't." He was mostly right, but I wasn't going to let him know that.

"You willing to take me up on that?"

He glared at me for a minute, then gave up and left. The rest of the men followed, visibly shocked that I would do such a think—me being a girl and all.

"Sorry about that," I said to the woman before me. Now that I was up close, she looked to be about 19 or 20. "Can I come inside?"

She let me in and we both set our swords on the ground in truce.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Layna Phillips. Yours?"

"Kia Mathers," I said, trying not to show the shock I felt on my face. It had to be a coincidence, meeting a relative of the man who provided us with our bearings. "Are you by any chance related to an Ian Phillips?"

"He was my husband's father. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, I just had heard it before. So, where's your kid?"

"Oh, I hid him in the closet," she said, hurrying to retrieve him.

"What's his name?"

"Robert—after his father."

"He's adorable." And he was—with dark skin and hair like his mother and huge cherub cheeks. Despite being in the closet for who knows how long, he was laughing and grinning, happy to be with his mother. "How old is he?"

"Just turned two."

"And… what exactly happened to his father?"

"He died." She didn't say any more. "We've been a bit short on… everything since. We were lucky to find work anywhere, let alone on a ship. The captain is a good friend of my father's so he settled everything for us. We've had to stay in a separate room, though, 'for my safety'. So I carry around a sword now—'for my safety'."

"They're quite handy," I said. "Though you may want to consider getting a gun of some sort as well. Swords are nice, but they won't cut it for long distances. Daggers like these"—I pulled mine out from my boot—"they're handy too, if hidden well."

"Sounds like you've been with this lot for quite some time."

"Not too long, but I've had to fend for myself long before I came aboard that ship."

"That man back there, would you really have shot him?"

"Probably not," I said truthfully. "I was hoping he wouldn't call me on my bluff."

"You're very brave."

"As are you. How old are you?"

"21."

"And yet, you stood up to at least two dozen men. That takes a good amount of guts."

"I had to protect my baby."

"Understandable."

"Do you have kids?"

"No. I'm not married." There was an awkward silence, then I said out of the blue, "How about you come aboard our ship?"

"Me? But why—"

"After stripping this ship of anything and everything of value, they'll probably blow it."

"As in—"

"Kaboom."

Her face was horrified. "And the people left in the ship?"

"We take in numerous prisoners, but if the brig is full…"

"How can you let them do that?!" she cried.

"I have no say in the matter."

"My husband," she said, her voice shaking with rage, "was killed by a pirate who wanted his ship. He tied him up and threw a bomb at him."

"I'm very sorry. What might the pirate's name have been?"

"Barbossa." I breathed a sigh of relief. If it had been Jack or Anne we would have been in big trouble.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that he is not sailing with us. Are you ready to go across?"

"I'll just get my things together." She bustled about, grabbed items and tossing them into her trunk.

Meanwhile, I entertained her baby. Finally she was ready, and she took Robert and I lifted the trunk.

We started off, my back in excruciating pain from carrying the heavy trunk.

Layna asked, "Are you all right?"

"I took a nasty fall a couple days ago. My back's pretty beat up."

"Are you sure you can take that?" She motioned to the trunk.

"I'll be fine. Let's just keep moving."

She nodded and we moved on. As we were crossing on a rope, my grip slipped and I slipped a long while before the friction slowed me down. When we landed, I grimaced at the red, raw marks of a rope burn on my palms.

"I'll take that," said Layna, grabbing the handle of her trunk. "Ouch," she noted of my hands.

"Ow," parroted Robert.

I frowned. "Yeah. Ow."

Jack cut us off before we could go below deck.

"Kia, who is this? And why are they bringing their… offspring aboard our ship?"

"Jack," I said tightly. "This is Layna _Phillips_. Miss _Phillips _and her son, Robert, will be staying with us for the time being."

"Phillips, is it?"

"Yeah, and you're Jack?" She smiled politely.

"It's Captain Jack Sparrow, luv."

The smile vanished. "Don't call me luv."

"Didn't mean to offend you… miss." He swayed forward then back in a drunken manner with a tiny hand jitter.

I was shocked. When I asked him to do the same, he practically laughed in my face and continued to call me "luv" just to annoy me.

"Where will she be sleeping?" asked Jack.

"She can have my room," I said.

"Oh, I don't want to inconvenience you." Layna sounded genuinely worried.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"And where will you be sleeping?" He had a sly grin on his face that made me very suspicious.

"I… don't… know…"

"You could sleep… in _my _room." His smile grew in size.

"What?…" I slowly began to follow his thinking. "No."

"Come on, luv, think about it. You. Me. A bed."

"I said _no_!"

"Then I suppose you'll have no choice but to sleep with the crew."

My face twisted as if I were in pain.

"Miss," said Layna. "You can have your room. I-I can stay with the crew."

"No," I said. "You are taking my room and that's final." I considered Jack's proposition. "Aren't there any other rooms?"

"Not unless you want to sleep in the storeroom," Jack said.

"How about on Anne's ship?"

"They're packed tight."

I paused to think. "Fine. I'll stay in your bloody room." He put on his smile of success. "But don't think this changes anything."

"Good," Jack said. It puzzled me greatly. As far as he—and that, for that matter—knew, I hated his guts. Something wasn't right there…


	16. Bloody Spy

"Move

"Move!"

"No."

"MOVE!"

"No."

It was a week after Layna had come aboard out ship and my back had healed almost entirely. Fortunately, this meant I could move about the ship and return to my duties. Unfortunately, this meant I no longer had a plausible excuse for staying as far away from Jack as possible in the bed we shared. I was currently trying to get him to stop taking up the entire thing.

"If you don't move, you're going to become a eunuch very soon."

He winced at the thought and wisely made room for me.

"How about a song before we sleep?"

I sat on the edge of the bed.

"I can't sing," I lied.

"Come on. I've heard of a song; been looking forward to hearing it."

"What's it called?"

"I think it was called… 'On the Loose.'"

I paled, then flushed red with embarrassment. I had played that song only one time since arriving and after it I had played my own song, "Could This Be Love", a song about Jack.

"Have you been spying on me?" I asked, glaring at him through narrowed eyes.

He flashed me a naughty grin. "Maybe." _Bloody spy. _

My anger flared, and I slapped him on the cheek so hard that I could have sent him flying if he were standing.

He froze for a moment, stung in more ways than one, then before I could comprehend what was happening he was across the room with his hands on my hips and his lips glued to mine.

It occurred so quickly I didn't realize what was going on until his lips were on mine and there wasn't anything I could do then. I delved deeper into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his broad muscular shoulders.

I remembered vaguely being mad at him, but struggled to remember why. All that mattered was what was happening in that moment and my mind refused to let me think of anything else but him.

For all I knew it was hours before I broke his spell, barely able to breathe, stumbled to the bed as if in a daze, pulled the covers over my head, and mumbled, "Good night."

"Good night." I could hear the smile in his voice.


	17. Self Destructive Rant

**Sorry I haven't updated this in SO long, I just sort of feel like no one's reading it (which I'm probably right about, but oh well). And I've still got a ways to go before I want to finish it. *sigh* But at any rate, I might just try to finish the rest of it as fast as possible since I'd like to actually finish one of the stories I've started for a change!**

**Oh, and I've gotten well into a couple other stories that I think are probably overall much better than this one. I've got a Harry Potter and Batman one, so as soon as I finish this one those will be out (maybe even sooner). =]**

When I woke up that morning, I had that strange feeling you get after having a dream that was so realistic, it felt real. I knew it was a good one, but the subject of the dream in question was fuzzy. I sat up in bed, full of a dizzying sense of déjà-vu, and suddenly remembered what my dream was about. It was Jack. I couldn't recall what about Jack, but he was in it somehow, and that fact disturbed me.

I climbed the stairs to above the ship, and approached Jack as he stood behind the wheel, looking out on the sea. His compass which didn't point north lay open on his palm. I had always been intrigued by that compass, so while his gaze was fixed ahead, I crept under his arms and snatched it out of his hand. He twirled around clumsily to face me. _Drunk_, I thought. _As usual._

"Kia, that's—"

"What's the point of having a compass that doesn't point north?" I said.

"It's no fun being like everyone else, is it? Besides, this particular compass can do oh so much more than that." He leaned—well, swayed is more like it—into me and said in an attempted mysterious tone, "It points to whatever you want most in the world."

I snorted. "That's impossible."

"Try it."

"Fine," I grumbled.

I held it in front of me, using my other hand to keep Jack from seeing it and found the needle pointing straight ahead. I looked up at Jack's face. Then back down. Then up. Finally I snapped it shut.

"Just remembered what I was going to tell you," I said, handing it back. "How long before we get to _Isla de Indicios_? Last time I checked we were supposed to be there a week ago."

He grimaced. "We were set off schedule. Stopping to raid the other ship ended up making us go in the wrong direction for a while, and what with the winds against us… We should be there soon."

"How soon?"

"It's the sea, luv." His eyes turned to the horizon in front of him.

"Which means…?"

He ignored me.

I rolled my eyes and started to walk away, when unexpectedly, my feet seemed to turn themselves around and force me to return to Jack.

"Last night…" I said impulsively. _Damn_, I thought after the words had left.

No answer.

"Jack?"

"Yes, luv?" he said.

The part of me that was still sane screamed at me to get out while I still could.

"Last night?" I said. _Turn around. Walk away. Turn around. Walk away. Turn around..._

"What about last night?"

_Just walk away goddamn it! _I shouted at myself.

"Last night meant nothing, you know that, right?" He kept silent and simply allowed me to destroy myself. "It's not like it could possibly mean anything whatsoever to someone like you anyways, so why should I even bother telling you that." I ranted. "And besides why would your caring matter to me at all? I don't care what you think. I shouldn't. Not to mention, nothing even happened, I mean it was just a…" I trailed off. "I doubt you even have feelings. Do you? Cause I can't bloody tell. I mean, you don't love anything? How could you? You don't care about anybody but yourself."

"That's not true," he said. "I love the sea very much."

I sighed. "And as usual I was right," I murmured to myself. "Just get us to that island."


End file.
